Fluid composition sensor device and method of using the same

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments described herein relate to apparatuses and methods for detecting fluid particles and their characteristics. In various embodiments, a device for detecting fluid particles and their characteristics may comprise a lens free holographic microscope configured to collect fluid particles via inertial impaction. In various embodiments, the collection media may be replaceable within the apparatus. In various embodiments, the impactor nozzle may be selectively configured to avoid optical reflections and scattering from illumination light passing through the nozzle. Various embodiments are directed to a collection media assembly for receiving particles from a volume of fluid within a fluid composition sensor. A collection media assembly may comprise a collection media, an orifice, a seal engagement portion and a frame element configured to facilitate the serial use of a plurality of collection media assemblies within a fluid composition sensor.

BACKGROUND

Sensors and devices may be utilized to characterize various aspects offluids in a wide variety of applications. As just one example, sensordevices may be utilized for monitoring air conditions, such asmonitoring and characterizing the particulate content of a flow of air.However, existing fluid sensor devices provide limited functionality ingenerating data indicative of certain characteristics of fluids, such asthe unique identity and concentration of individual particles containedwithin a fluid flow. Fluid sensor devices can use holographic imagingmethods to characterize particle identity and concentration ofparticulate matter that has been collected via inertial impaction. It isdesirable to improve various aspects of particle sampling and analysis.In general, it can be advantageous for a fluid sampling device toutilize a sampling media that enables rapid and/or simplified sequentialsampling of particles. For devices utilizing holographic imaging (suchas lensless holography) for in situ particle analysis, it is desirableto avoid optical reflections and scattering in order to achieve optimalimage quality.

Accordingly, a need exists for an improved fluid sensor devices capableof reducing optical interference from the inertial impactor samplingmethod and/or enabling multiple samples to be analyzed from one or moreimpactor collection media.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various embodiments described herein relate to apparatuses and methodsfor collecting and characterizing particles suspended within a fluid.Various embodiments are directed to a device for detecting fluidparticle characteristics comprising: a fluid composition sensorconfigured to receive a volume of fluid, the fluid composition sensorcomprising: a housing defining an internal sensor portion and comprisinga fluid inlet configured to receive the volume of fluid; an inertialimpactor nozzle disposed within the internal sensor portion andconfigured to receive at least a portion of the volume of fluid suchthat the at least a portion of the volume of fluid received by theimpactor is directed in a fluid flow direction; at least one collectionmedia configured to receive one or more particles of a plurality ofparticles within the volume of fluid, at least a portion of the at leastone collection media being disposed within the internal sensor portion,wherein each of the at least one collection media comprises at least oneorifice configured to allow at least a portion of the volume of fluid toflow therethrough; an illumination source from which light propagatesthrough the impactor nozzle; and an imaging device configured to capturean image of at least a portion of the one or more particles of theplurality of particles received by the at least one collection media;and a controller configured to determine at least one particlecharacteristic of the volume of fluid received by the fluid compositionsensor based at least in part on the image captured by the imagingdevice; wherein the housing is selectively configurable between a firsthousing configuration and a second housing configuration, wherein thefirst housing configuration enables a reconfiguration of the at leastone collection media, and wherein the second housing configurationprovides a secured seal so as to isolate the at least a portion of theat least one collection media disposed within the internal sensorportion from a volume of ambient fluid, wherein the fluid flow directionis at least substantially toward the at least a portion of the at leastone collection media disposed within the internal sensor portion; andwherein, when the fluid composition sensor is configured in the secondhousing configuration, at least substantially all of the at least aportion of the volume of fluid received by the impactor nozzle flowsthrough the at least one orifice of the at least one collection mediadisposed within the internal portion of the housing.

In various embodiments, the at least one collection media may bedisposed upon a rotatable disc configured such that the reconfigurationof the at least one collection media comprises rotating the rotatabledisc about an axis so as to move the at least one collection mediarelative to the internal sensor portion of the housing. In variousembodiments, the at least one collection media is disposed upon analignment plate configured such that the reconfiguration of the at leastone collection media comprises moving the alignment plate about a planeso as to move the at least one collection media relative to the internalsensor portion of the housing.

In various embodiments, the at least one collection media may comprise aplurality of collection media, each of the plurality of collection mediabeing configured to be consecutively disposed within the internal sensorportion in series. Further, in various embodiments, the device maycomprise a first collection media assembly storage chamber configured tohouse at least a portion of the plurality of collection media, the firstcollection media assembly storage chamber being positioned proximate thehousing such that the housing is configured to receive the at least aportion of the plurality of collection media from the first collectionmedia assembly storage chamber. In various embodiments, each of theplurality of collection media may comprise a corresponding frame elementconfigured to facilitate the collective storage and subsequent dispenseof the at least a portion of the plurality of collection media from thefirst collection media assembly storage chamber. In various embodiments,the first collection media assembly storage chamber may further comprisean actuator element configured to selectively apply a force to one ofthe plurality of collection media stored within the first collectionmedia assembly storage chamber so as to reposition the one of theplurality of collection media to the internal sensor portion of thefluid composition sensor. In various embodiments, the device may furthercomprise a second collection media storage chamber positioned proximatethe housing such that the housing is configured to transmit at least aportion of the plurality of collection media to the second collectionmedia assembly storage chamber, the second collection media assemblystorage chamber being configured to receive at least a portion of theplurality of collection media from the internal sensor portion of thehousing.

Various embodiments are directed to a device for detecting fluidparticle characteristics comprising: a fluid composition sensorconfigured to receive a volume of fluid, the fluid composition sensorcomprising: a housing defining an internal sensor portion and comprisinga fluid inlet configured to receive the volume of fluid; at least onecollection media configured to receive one or more particles of aplurality of particles within the volume of fluid, at least a portion ofthe at least one collection media being disposed within the internalsensor portion; an impactor nozzle disposed within the internal sensorportion, the impactor nozzle comprising: a nozzle inlet comprising anozzle inlet cross-sectional area, the nozzle inlet being configured toreceive at least a portion of the volume of fluid; a nozzle outletcomprising a nozzle outlet cross-sectional area; and a plurality ofsidewalls extending between the nozzle inlet and the nozzle outlet, eachof the plurality of sidewalls comprising an inner sidewall and an outersidewall; wherein the impactor nozzle is configured such that the atleast a portion of the volume of fluid received by the nozzle inletflows from the nozzle outlet in fluid flow direction at leastsubstantially toward the at least a portion of the at least onecollection media disposed within the internal sensor portion; at leastone illumination source configured to emit one or more light beams so asto engage the at least one collection media and illuminate the one ormore particles received by the at least one collection media, each ofthe one or more light beams being emitted from the illumination sourceat a corresponding light beam emission angle; and an imaging deviceconfigured to capture an image of at least a portion of the one or moreparticles received by the at least one collection media; and acontroller configured to determine at least one particle characteristicof the volume of fluid received by the fluid composition sensor based atleast in part on the image captured by the imaging device; wherein thefluid composition sensor is configured such that at least a portion ofthe one or more light beams emitted from the illumination source extendthrough both the nozzle inlet and the nozzle outlet; wherein theimpactor nozzle comprises a particle imaging configuration wherein atleast one of the plurality of sidewalls is defined at least in part by ataper angle corresponding with the light beam emission angle of one ofthe one or more light beams, wherein the taper angle is at least aslarge as each light beam emission angle.

In various embodiments, the plurality of sidewalls may define a firstnozzle portion and a second nozzle portion, wherein the first nozzleportion comprises a first tapered portion extending between the nozzleinlet and an intermediate nozzle location, and wherein the second nozzleportion extends between the intermediate nozzle location and the nozzleoutlet, the intermediate nozzle location comprising an intermediatenozzle cross-sectional width, wherein the first nozzle portion isconfigured such that the intermediate nozzle cross-sectional width issmaller than the nozzle inlet cross-sectional area. In variousembodiments, the second nozzle portion may comprise a second taperedportion configured such that the intermediate nozzle cross-sectionalwidth is smaller than the nozzle outlet cross-sectional area. Further,in various embodiments, the impactor nozzle may further comprise acentral nozzle axis extending perpendicularly between the nozzle inletand the nozzle outlet, wherein the illumination source is aligned withthe central nozzle axis.

In various embodiments, the impactor nozzle may be configurable betweena first nozzle configuration and a second nozzle configuration, whereinthe first nozzle configuration corresponds to a particle collectionfunctionality of the fluid composition sensor, and wherein the secondnozzle configuration corresponds to a particle analysis functionality ofthe fluid composition sensor, wherein the fluid composition sensor isconfigured so as to selectively configure the nozzle between the firstnozzle configuration and the second nozzle configuration. In variousembodiments, the nozzle outlet cross-sectional area of the nozzle outletin the first nozzle configuration is smaller than the nozzle outletcross-sectional area of the nozzle outlet in the second nozzleconfiguration. Further, In various embodiments, each of the plurality ofsidewalls may be configured to independently move relative to anadjacent sidewall of the plurality of sidewalls. In various embodiments,the fluid composition sensor may be configured to selectively apply apushing force to each of the outer sidewalls of the plurality ofsidewalls.

Various embodiments are directed to a collection media assembly forreceiving one or more particles from a volume of fluid within a fluidcomposition sensor, the collection media assembly comprising: atransparent substrate; at least one collection media disposed upon thetransparent substrate and configured to receive one or more particlesfrom a volume of fluid; at least one orifice extending through thetransparent substrate, the at least one orifice being arranged at leastapproximately adjacent a corresponding collection media of the at leastone collection media; and at least one air seal engagement portion, eachair seal engagement portion being configured to surround one of the atleast one collection media and the at least one orifice correspondingthereto; wherein the at least one orifice is configured to enable thevolume of fluid to flow through the transparent substrate; and whereineach of the at least one seal engagement portions is configured toengage one or more air seal components of a fluid composition sensorsuch that substantially all of the volume of fluid flows through the atleast one orifice surrounded by the at least one air seal engagementportion.

Various embodiments are directed to a method for detecting fluidparticle characteristics comprising: receiving, via a sensor, a volumeof fluid; directing the volume of fluid, via an impactor nozzle in afirst nozzle configuration, toward a collection media, receiving, viathe collection media, one or more particles of a plurality of particleswithin the volume of fluid; reconfiguring the impactor nozzle to asecond nozzle configuration; illuminating, via one or more light beamsemitted from an illumination source, the one or more particles receivedby the collection media, wherein each of the one or more light beams areemitted from an illumination source at a corresponding light beamemission angle; capturing an image of the one or more particles of theplurality of particles received by the collection media; anddetermining, based at least in part on the image, at least one particlecharacteristic of the plurality of particles of volume of fluid.

In various embodiments, reconfiguring the impactor nozzle to the secondnozzle configuration may comprise repositioning at least a portion ofthe impactor nozzle such that at least a portion of one or more of aplurality of sidewalls of the impactor nozzle is defined at least inpart by a taper angle corresponding with the light beam emission angleof one of the one or more light beams, wherein the taper angle is atleast as large as each of the light beam emission angles. In variousembodiments, the method may further comprise, upon capturing the imageof the one or more particles of the plurality of particles received bythe collection media, repositioning a second collection media so as toreplace the collection media.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an exemplary fluid sensor in accordancewith various embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of an exemplaryfluid sensor as described herein.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an exemplary apparatus for implementingvarious embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an exemplary method for detectingfluid particle characteristics of a fluid according to embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary apparatus in accordance with variousembodiments as described herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates a collection media assembly in accordance with oneembodiment as described herein.

FIGS. 7A-7B illustrate various views of a collection media assembly inaccordance with one embodiment as described herein.

FIGS. 8A-8B illustrate various views of a collection media assembly inaccordance with one embodiment as described herein.

FIGS. 9A-9B illustrate various views of a collection media assembly inaccordance with various embodiments described herein.

FIG. 10 illustrates a top view of a collection media assembly inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment described herein.

FIG. 11 illustrates a top view of a collection media assembly inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment described herein.

FIG. 12 illustrates a top view of a collection media assembly inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment described herein.

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary apparatus inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment described herein.

FIGS. 14A-14B illustrate an exemplary apparatus in accordance withvarious embodiments described herein.

FIG. 15 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary apparatus inaccordance with one embodiment described herein.

FIG. 16 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary apparatus inaccordance with one embodiment described herein.

FIG. 17 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary apparatus inaccordance with one embodiment described herein.

FIGS. 18A-18D schematically illustrate exemplary apparatuses inaccordance with various embodiments described herein.

FIGS. 19A-19C illustrate perspective views of an exemplary apparatus inaccordance with various embodiments.

FIGS. 20A-20B illustrate various views of an exemplary apparatus inaccordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure more fully describes various embodiments withreference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood thatsome, but not all embodiments are shown and described herein. Indeed,the embodiments may take many different forms, and accordingly thisdisclosure should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbersrefer to like elements throughout.

It should be understood at the outset that although illustrativeimplementations of one or more aspects are illustrated below, thedisclosed assemblies, systems, and methods may be implemented using anynumber of techniques, whether currently known or not yet in existence.The disclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrativeimplementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, but may bemodified within the scope of the appended claims along with their fullscope of equivalents. While values for dimensions of various elementsare disclosed, the drawings may not be to scale.

The words “example,” or “exemplary,” when used herein, are intended tomean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Anyimplementation described herein as an “example” or “exemplaryembodiment” is not necessarily preferred or advantageous over otherimplementations. As used herein, a “fluid” may be embodied as a gas, aliquid, or a combination of a gas and a liquid in a single flow. Thus,the term “fluid” encompasses various materials subject to flow, such as,but not limited to, liquids and/or gases (e.g., air, oil, or the like).Thus, various embodiments are directed to fluid sensing systems, such asgas sensing systems (e.g., certain embodiments being specificallyconfigured for operation with air; other embodiments being configuredfor operation with other gases, such as inert gases, volatile gases,and/or the like), liquid sensing systems, and/or the like.

Overview

Described herein is a device configured to characterize and monitorparticulate matter within a volume of fluid. The device discussed hereinmay be configured to quantify and classify the particles within a volumeof fluid based at least in part on the imaging of particles received bya collection media of a fluid composition sensor. Further, the devicediscussed herein may be configured to characterize the particlecomposition within the volume of fluid by directly identifying theparticle size and particle type of each of the particles received by thecollection media of the fluid composition sensor. By directlydetermining the particle size and particle type, the device as describedherein may be configured to detect a change in particle compositionwithin a volume of fluid over time and/or location.

Further, the device described herein may be configured to produce aclear optical output with respect to an image captured by an imagingdevice of the fluid composition sensor. The device herein may comprisean impactor nozzle configured to minimize the reflection of a portion ofa light beam emitted from an illumination source. The device herein maycomprise an impactor nozzle configured to minimize imaging distortioncaused by a divergent light beam emitted from an illumination sourcebeing incident on a sidewall thereof and reflecting toward the imager.For example, by minimizing the scattering of the light beam caused bythe impactor nozzle, such a device configuration may reduce noise thatmay degrade the ability of the fluid composition sensor to locate,identify, and/or analyze individual particles of the one or moreparticles disposed within the collection media. The device may similarlybe configured so as to avoid the degradation of an ability of the fluidcomposition sensor to reconstruct an image of one or more of thecaptured particles, which may result in decreased sensor performancewith respect to classifying the one or more particles using machinelearning.

Further, the device herein may be configured to increase devicereliability and user satisfaction associated with the device byutilizing a replaceable collection media in conjunction with a fluidcomposition sensor. In accordance with certain embodiments discussedherein, the collection media used to collect particles from a volume offluid within the fluid composition sensor may be automatically replaced(within a fluid collection position) upon a determination that apredefined sample volume of fluid or sample number of particles haspassed through the device. The device herein may minimize intermittentuser-interaction with the collection media, thereby expediting a samplecollection process, reducing the physical work required of a user,facilitating measurement automation, and minimizing device failurescaused by misalignment during a user-defined reconfiguration of one ormore device components.

Fluid Composition Sensor

The device 10 may comprise a fluid composition sensor 100 configured toreceive a volume of fluid flowing therethrough. Specifically, the device10 may be configured to receive a volume of a gas, such as air, flowingtherethrough. In various embodiments, the fluid composition sensor 100may be further configured to capture an image of one or more particlesof a plurality of particles present within the received volume of fluid.As illustrated in FIG. 1, the fluid composition sensor 100 may comprisea housing 101, an impactor nozzle 104, a collection media 106, an atleast partially transparent substrate 108, and an imaging device 110. Insome embodiments, the fluid composition sensor 100 may further comprisea power supply 114 configured to power the fluid composition sensor 100and a fan or pump 112 configured to pull the volume of fluid into andthrough the fluid composition sensor 100. In various embodiments, thefan or pump 112 is calibrated, such that the flow rate of fluid movingthrough the device is known/determined based at least in part on theoperating characteristics (e.g., operating power) of the fan or pump112. In various embodiments, the fluid composition sensor 100 maycomprise a lens free microscope, such as one described in WIPOPublication Number 2018/165590, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. In various embodiments, a lens-freemicroscope may utilize one or more techniques, such as, for example,lensless holography, to capture a particle image, as described herein,of the one or more particles of a plurality of particles received by acollection media 106. Alternatively, the fluid composition sensor 100may comprise a lens-based imaging device or any other apparatusconfigured to capture an image which may be analyzed by an apparatus asdescribed herein so as to determine a particle size or other particlecharacteristics of one or more particles captured by the collectionmedia 106. In various embodiments, a lens-based imaging device mayutilize one or more imaging techniques, such as, for example, opticalmicroscopy, to capture a particle image, as described herein, of the oneor more particles of a plurality of particles 120 received by acollection media 106. In various embodiments, optical microscopy maycomprise light transmitted through or reflected from a collection media106 and/or a plurality of particles 120 disposed therein through one ormore lenses to magnify and capture an image of one or more of theparticles of the plurality of particles 120 within the collection media106. As described herein, the fluid composition sensor 100 may beelectronically and communicatively connected to a controller 200.

In various embodiments, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the impactornozzle 104 may be configured to direct the flow of the volume of fluidreceived by the fluid composition sensor 100 in a flow direction 130 atleast substantially perpendicular to and directed toward a receivingsurface of a collection media 106. In various embodiments, thecollection media 106 may be embodied as a portion of a collection mediaassembly. For example, the collection media assembly may be embodied asa replaceable slide (as illustrated in FIGS. 5-8B), within which areplaceable collection media 106 may be disposed. In other embodiments,the entirety of the replaceable slide may be disposable, and thecollection media 106 may be permanently secured therein. However, inother embodiments, the collection media assembly may comprise acollection media tape 106 (e.g., the collection media tape may beembodied as an elongated collection media 106 that may be moved throughthe fluid composition sensor 100 such that a fresh (e.g., unused)portion of the collection media tape may be exposed to the fluid flowingthrough the impactor nozzle 104). As yet another example, the collectionmedia 106 may be disposed on and/or as a portion of a rotatable disc,such that the collection media 106 may be rotated relative to the fluidcomposition sensor 100 such that a fresh (e.g., unused) portion of thecollection media disc may be exposed to the fluid flowing through theimpactor nozzle 104. It should be understood that the collection media106 may be embodied in any of a variety of forms. In yet otherembodiments, the collection media 106 may be permanently affixed withinthe composition sensor 100, such that the entire composition sensor 100may be disposable once the collection media 106 is sufficiently filledwith particles from a fluid flowing through the composition sensor 100.The collection media 106 may be configured to receive one or moreparticles of a plurality of particles 120 via interaction with thevolume of fluid. In various embodiments, the collection media 106 maycomprise a receiving surface 105, a backside 107, and a thicknessdefined by the distance between the receiving surface 105 and thebackside 107. In various embodiments, the thickness of the collectionmedia 106 may be at least substantially between about 10 and about 1000microns, (e.g., 100 microns). In various embodiments, the collectionmedia 106 may comprise a material suitable to stop one or more particlesof a plurality of particles 120 traveling at a velocity into thereceiving surface 105 before the particle reaches the backside 107, suchthat the one or more particles of the plurality of particles 120 aredisposed within the collection media at a distance along the thicknessof the collection media 106. For example, in various embodiments, thecollection media may comprise an adhesive (i.e. sticky) material, suchas a gel. In various embodiments, the fluid composition sensor 100 maycomprise a transparent substrate 108 positioned at least substantiallyadjacent (e.g., secured directly to) the backside 107 of the collectionmedia 106. In various embodiments, the collection media assembly mayfurther comprise the transparent substrate 108. Further, in variousembodiments, such as those in which the collection media assembly isembodied as a slide, the collection media assembly may comprise acollection media housing 113, which may define a handle 109. In variousembodiments, a collection media housing 113 may be configured to receiveand secure at least a portion of a collection media 106 and/or asubstrate 108. In various embodiments, collection media housing 113 maybe configured to be removably positioned at least partially within afluid composition sensor 100, such the collection media 106 is disposedwithin a fluid flow path of a volume of fluid traveling in flowdirection 130. In various embodiments, the collection media housing 113may be configured to have at least one opening positioned adjacent atleast a portion of the collection media 106 such that the one or moreparticles of a plurality of particles present within a volume of fluidmay engage a receiving surface 105 of the collection media 106.

In various embodiments, the collection media housing 113 may define ahandle 109. In various embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5, the handle 109may be configured to facilitate the accessibility of the collectionmedia 106 and/or housing 113, for example, to enable the removal and/orreplacement of the collection media 106 from the fluid compositionsensor 100. As noted above, the collection media 106 may be configuredfor use in conjunction with (or embodied as), for example, a slide, atape, a disc, or any other appropriate mechanism configured tofacilitate the transportation of the collection media 106.

In various embodiments, a device 10 may experience increasedinaccuracies over time, for example, as the number of particlescollected within the collection media 106 increases (and the resultingphysical properties of the collection media 106 changes as a result ofthe increase number of particles disposed therein. Thus, one or morecomponents of the collection media assembly as described herein may bereplaceable. In various embodiments, replacing one or more components ofthe collection media assembly may comprise removing one or morecomponents from the fluid composition sensor 100 and replacing the oneor more components of the collection media assembly with one or more atleast substantially similar components. Alternatively, it should beunderstood that in various embodiments, replacing one or more componentsof the collection media assembly may comprise cleaning, repositioning,and/or modifying the one or more components of the collection mediaassembly so as to decrease the number of particles present within aportion of the collection media 106 exposed to the air flow within thecomposition sensor 100. As a non-limiting example, in variousembodiments wherein the collection media assembly may comprise anadhesive tape, at least a portion of the tape may be removed so as toexpose a fresh portion of tape positioned thereunder and correspondingto the at least a portion of the tape that was removed. As a furthernon-limiting example, in various embodiments wherein the collectionmedia assembly may comprise a disc, the disc may be configured to becleaned such that the characteristics of the disc may be at leastsubstantially similar to those of a new disc. In various embodiments,the fluid composition sensor 100 may in part or in whole be configuredto be replaceable and/or disposable.

In various embodiments, the fluid composition sensor 100 may comprise animaging device 110 configured to capture an image of the one or moreparticles of the plurality of particles 120 received by the collectionmedia 106. In various embodiments, the imaging device 110 may bepositioned at least substantially adjacent (e.g., in contact with orspaced a distance away from) the backside 107 of the transparentsubstrate 108 such that the imaging device 110 may effectively captureone or more images of the one or particles captured within thecollection media 106. In various embodiments, the fluid compositionsensor 100 may have a designated field of view for capturing,permanently and/or temporarily, an image of multiple particles of theplurality of particles simultaneously. The collection media 106 mayreside at least partially within the field of view of the imaging device110, such that the plurality of particles 120 captured by the collectionmedia 106 are visible by the imaging device 110. As shown in FIG. 2, theimaging device 110 may be positioned beneath the transparent substrate108 relative to the collection media 106. For example, the imagingdevice 110 may be positioned between about 100 microns and about 5 mm(e.g., 1 mm) way from the transparent substrate 108. Alternatively, theimaging device 110 may be positioned above the transparent substrate 108relative to the collection media 106.

In various embodiments, the imaging device 110 may be configured tocapture the image of one or more particles of the plurality of particles120 received by the collection media 106 using one or more imagingtechniques such as, for example, lensless holography. In variousembodiments wherein the imaging device is configured to utilize lenslessholography, the imaging device may computationally produce an image ofthe one or more particles received by the collection media 106 bydigitally reconstructing one or more microscopic images of one or moreparticles received by the collection media 106 without using a lens.Alternatively, and/or additionally, the imaging device 110 may utilizeoptical microscopy to capture an image of one or more particles of theplurality of particles 120 received by the collection media 106. In someembodiments, the fluid composition sensor 100 may be configured tocapture one or more images of a plurality of particles in the collectionmedia 106 simultaneously. For example, the fluid composition sensor 100may have a designated field of view for capturing, permanently and/ortemporarily, an image of multiple particles of the plurality ofparticles simultaneously, as described herein. In various embodiments,the one or more images captured by the fluid composition sensor 100 maybe transmitted at least to the controller 200. In various embodiments,the imaging device 110 may be configured to capture one or more imagesat a first time and a second time, wherein the first time represents thestart of an analysis of the one or more particles of the plurality ofparticles 120 captured by the collection media 106 by the device 10 andthe second time is subsequent the first time. In such a configuration,the device may be able to distinguish between particles present withinthe collection media 106 at the start of the particle analysis andparticles that were newly received by the collection media 106 bycomparing the respective particle images captured at the first andsecond times and identifying any particles from the second capturedparticle image that were not captured in the first captured particleimage.

In various embodiments, the fluid composition sensor 100 may beconnected to a power supply 114 configured to receive power and powerthe fluid composition sensor 100. As non-limiting examples, the powersupply 114 may comprise one or more batteries, one or more capacitors,one or more constant power supplies (e.g., a wall-outlet), and/or thelike. In some embodiments the power supply 114 may comprise an externalpower supply positioned outside of the fluid composition sensor 100 andconfigured to deliver alternating or direct current power to the fluidcomposition sensor 100. Further, in some embodiments, as illustrated inFIG. 1, the power supply 114 may comprise an internal power supply, forexample, one or more batteries, positioned within the fluid compositionsensor 100. In various embodiments, a power supply 114 may be connectedto the controller 200 to enable distribution of power through thecontroller to the fluid composition sensor 100.

FIGS. 6-8B show various exemplary embodiments of a collection mediaassembly as described herein. As shown in FIGS. 6-8B, the collectionmedia assembly may comprise a collection media 106 disposed upon areplaceable slide, a collection media housing 113 configured to securethe replaceable slide—and thus the collection media 106—therein, and ahandle 109. In various embodiments, the collection media 106 may beconfigured to be attached to a transparent substrate 108, which mayfurther be disposed within the collection media housing 113. In variousembodiments, the replaceable slide may define the transparent substrate108. As shown in FIG. 6, the collection media housing 113 may comprise atab proximate at least a portion of an opening configured to receive thereplaceable slide via a hinged connection that enables the replaceableslide to snap into a desired position. The collection media 106 may beconfigured to be replaceable, as it may be removed from the collectionmedia housing 113 via the unhinging of the replaceable slide from itssecured position within the collection media housing 113 andsubsequently replaced with a different collection media 106 (e.g., afresh collection media 106). In various embodiments, the collectionmedia housing 113 may be removed from the fluid composition sensor 100,for example, via user interaction with the handle 109.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the collection media housing 113 maycomprise a slot along at least one side with dimensions corresponding toa cross-section of a replaceable slide such that the housing 113 may beconfigured to receive the replaceable slide with the collection media106 disposed thereon via the slot. The collection media 106 may beconfigured to be replaceable, as it may be removed from the collectionmedia housing 113 via the sliding of the replaceable slide from itssecured position within the collection media housing 113 through theslot and subsequently replaced with a different collection media 106.The collection media housing 113 may be removed from the fluidcomposition sensor 100, for example, via user interaction with thehandle 109.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the collection media housing 113 maycomprise a removeable face such that the housing 113 may be configuredto receive the replaceable slide when the removable face is in adetached configuration and secure the replaceable slide into a desiredposition when the removable face is in an assembled configuration. Thecollection media 106 may be configured to be replaceable, as it may beremoved from the collection media housing 113 via the detachment of theremovable face of the collection media housing 113 and the recovery ofthe replaceable slide from its secured position within the collectionmedia housing 113 and subsequently replaced with a different collectionmedia 106. The collection media housing 113 may be removed from thefluid composition sensor 100, for example, via user interaction with thehandle 109.

FIGS. 9A-9B illustrate various views of a collection media assembly inaccordance with various embodiments as described herein. As shown inFIGS. 9A and 9B, the collection media assembly 150 may comprise at leastone collection media 106 disposed upon a transparent substrate 108, atleast one orifice 111 extending through the transparent substrate 108,and an air seal engagement portion 115A surrounding the collection media106, the at least one orifice 111, and the transparent substrate 108. Invarious embodiments, the transparent substrate 108 may be defined by areplaceable slide, as described herein. In various embodiments, the atleast one orifice 111 may be positioned at least approximately adjacentthe at least one collection media 106. For example, as illustrated inFIGS. 9A-9B, the at least one orifice 111 may comprise a plurality oforifices (e.g., two orifices disposed on opposite sides of thecollection medial 106) disposed about the transparent substrate 108 soas to enable a volume of fluid to flow through the transparent substrate108. In various embodiments, the air seal engagement portion 115A maydefine at least a portion of a perimeter of the collection mediaassembly 150, such as a portion of the collection media assembly 150that surrounds one of the at least one collection media 106 and the atleast one orifice 111 corresponding thereto. In various embodiments, theair seal engagement portion 115A may be used to prevent or limitexposure of adjacent or nearby collection media sections 106 to thefluid being sampled. In certain embodiments, the air seal engagementportion 115A may be embodied as a rigid, at least substantially smoothcomponent configured to interact with a gasket (or other flexiblesealing component) of an air seal component of a device as discussedherein. As another example, the air seal engagement portion 115A maycomprise one or more flexible components (e.g., a resilient gasket)configured to interact with corresponding components of an air sealcomponent of a device so as to form an at least substantially fluidtight seal therebetween. For example, the air seal engagement portion115A may be configured to receive and/or engage an air seal component ofthe fluid composition sensor such that at least substantially all of avolume of fluid flowing through the fluid composition sensor flowsthrough the at least one orifice 111 surrounded by the at least one sealengagement portion 115A. As shown in FIG. 9A, the air seal engagementportion 115A may comprise a portion of a surface of the transparentsubstrate 108. In various embodiments, as described herein, the air sealengagement portion 115A may comprise a plurality of air seal engagementportions, each corresponding to a respective collection media 106 of theat least one collection media and the at least one orifice 111corresponding thereto.

FIG. 9B illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary collectionmedia assembly in accordance an embodiment described herein. As shown,the collection media assembly 150 may comprise a collection mediahousing 113. In various embodiments, the collection media housing 113may be configured to at least partially surround the transparentsubstrate 108 so as to embody an outer frame of the collection mediaassembly 106. In various embodiments, as described herein, the at leastone seal engagement portion of the collection media assembly 150 maycomprise a portion of the collection media housing 113. In variousembodiments, the collection media housing 113 may be configured tofacilitate the collective storage (e.g., stacking) and subsequentdispensing of each of a plurality of collection media assemblies 150into an internal sensor portion of a fluid composition sensor. Forexample, as described herein, the collection media housing 113 of eachof the plurality of collection media assemblies 150 may be configured toreceive a force from one or more components of the exemplary devicedescribed herein (e.g., an actuator element) such that each collectionmedia assembly 150 may be consecutively transmitted in series from astorage location to the internal sensor portion of the fluid compositionsensor.

FIGS. 10-12 illustrate various collection media assemblies in accordancewith exemplary embodiments described herein. FIG. 10 illustrates a topview of a plurality of collection media assemblies disposed upon arotatable disc in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. In variousembodiments, a plurality of collection media assemblies 150 may bedisposed upon a rotatable disc that may be rotatable about an axis suchthat the plurality of collection media assemblies 150 (e.g., comprisinga plurality of collection media 106) may move relative to an internalsensor portion of a housing of a fluid composition sensor. The rotatabledisc may be configured such that the plurality of collection media 106may be moved (e.g., rotated) relative to the fluid composition sensorsuch that a fresh (e.g., unused) collection media 106 of the pluralityof collection media assemblies 150 may be exposed to a volume of fluidflowing through an impactor nozzle, as described herein.

In various embodiments, the rotatable disc may comprise a coplanar andconcentric plurality of disc portions, each of the disc portionscomprising portion of the rotatable disc upon which one or more of theplurality of collection media assemblies 150 may be disposed. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the rotatable disc may comprise afirst disc portion 108A and a second disc portion 108B, upon each ofwhich is a plurality of collection media assemblies 150. Each of thedisc portions may be defined at least in part by a corresponding radialdistance between the disc portion and the central axis of the rotatabledisc, wherein the radial distance corresponding to each of the discportions comprises a distinct value such that the plurality of discportions may define a plurality of circumferential layers extendingradially outwardly from the central axis of the rotatable disc. Theplurality of disc portions may be configured to increase the capacity ofrotatable disc with respect to the number of collection media 106disposed thereon. In various embodiments, the exemplary device describedherein may be configured such that the rotatable disc may be rotatedand/or moved linearly (e.g., in a radial direction relative to the disk)relative to the fluid composition sensor so as to position an unusedcollection media 106 of the plurality of collection media assemblies 150at least substantially adjacent an outlet of an impactor nozzle of thefluid composition sensor, as described herein.

As described herein, each of the plurality of collection media 106 ofthe plurality of collection media assemblies 150 may be disposed upon atransparent substrate. In various embodiments, at least a portion of therotatable disc upon which the plurality of collection media 106 isdisposed may comprise a transparent substrate, however opaque ortranslucent materials may be utilized for defining portions of the diskbetween included collection media assemblies 150. For example, invarious embodiments, the entirety of the rotatable disc may comprise atransparent substrate. Further, in various embodiments, the rotatabledisc may comprise one or more alignment keys 151 configured to assistwith the manual and/or mechanical installation and/or alignment of acollection media 106 disposed upon the rotatable disc in a position suchthat a volume of fluid flowing through the fluid composition sensor(e.g., through the impactor nozzle) may be passed across a surface ofthe collection media 106. The rotatable disc may comprise a plurality oforifices corresponding to the at least one orifice 111 of each of theplurality of collection media assemblies 150, configured such that avolume of fluid may flow therethrough. In various embodiments, each ofthe plurality of collection media assemblies 150 may comprise an airseal engagement portion 115A surrounding a corresponding one of theplurality of collection media 106 and the at least one orifice 111positioned adjacent thereto. In such a configuration, a volume of fluidflowing through the sensor may be passed across a surface of thecollection media 106 surrounded by an air seal engagement portion 115Aengaged with an air seal component of the fluid composition sensor, asdescribed herein. For example, the collection media 106 surrounded by anair seal engagement portion 115A engaged with an air seal component ofthe fluid composition sensor may be fluidly isolated from each of theother collection media of the plurality of collection media disposedupon the rotatable disc.

FIG. 11 illustrates a top view of a plurality of collection mediaassemblies disposed upon an alignment plate in accordance with anexemplary embodiment. In various embodiments, a plurality of collectionmedia assemblies 150 may be disposed upon an alignment plate that may bemoveable about a plane such that the plurality of collection mediaassemblies 150 (e.g., comprising a plurality of collection media 106)may move relative to an internal sensor portion of a housing of a fluidcomposition sensor. The alignment plate may be configured such that theplurality of collection media 106 may be moved (e.g., linearly shifted)along at least two directional axes (e.g., an x-axis and a y-axisexisting within a plane) relative to the fluid composition sensor suchthat a fresh (e.g., unused) collection media 106 of the plurality ofcollection media assemblies 150 may be exposed to a volume of fluidflowing through an impactor nozzle, as described herein. As illustratedin FIG. 11, in various embodiments, the plurality of collection mediaassemblies 150 disposed upon the alignment plate may be arranged so asto define an array comprising plurality of rows and columns.

As described herein, each of the plurality of collection media 106 ofthe plurality of collection media assemblies 150 may be disposed upon atransparent substrate. In various embodiments, at least a portion of thealignment plate upon which the plurality of collection media 106 isdisposed may comprise a transparent substrate. For example, in variousembodiments, the entirety of the alignment plate may comprise atransparent substrate (however, portions of the alignment plate betweenthe collection media assemblies may comprise opaque or translucentmaterials in certain embodiments). Further, in various embodiments, thealignment plate may comprise one or more alignment keys 151 configuredto assist with the manual and/or mechanical installation and/oralignment of a collection media 106 disposed upon the alignment plate ina position such that a volume of fluid flowing through the fluidcomposition sensor (e.g., through the impactor nozzle) may be passedacross a surface of the collection media 106. In various embodiments,the one or more alignment keys 151 may be arranged about the alignmentplate so as to correspond to a particular row and a particular column ofthe array defined by the plurality of collection media assemblies 150.

The alignment plate may further comprise a plurality of orificescorresponding to the at least one orifice of each of the plurality ofcollection media assemblies 150, configured such that a volume of fluidmay flow therethrough. In various embodiments, each of the plurality ofcollection media assemblies 150 may comprise an air seal engagementportion surrounding a corresponding one of the plurality of collectionmedia 106 and the at least one orifice 111 positioned adjacent thereto.In such a configuration, a volume of fluid flowing through the sensormay be passed across a surface of the collection media 106 surrounded byan air seal engagement portion 115A engaged with an air seal componentof the fluid composition sensor, as described herein. For example, thecollection media 106 surrounded by an air seal engagement portion thatis engaged with an air seal component of the fluid composition sensormay be fluidly isolated from each of the other collection media of theplurality of collection media disposed upon the alignment plate.

FIG. 12 illustrates a top view of a plurality of collection mediaassemblies disposed upon an alignment tape in accordance with anexemplary embodiment. In various embodiments, a plurality of collectionmedia assemblies 150 may be disposed upon an alignment plate that may bemoveable in a direction at least substantially parallel with a linearaxis extending along the length of the alignment tape such that theplurality of collection media assemblies 150 (e.g., comprising aplurality of collection media 106) disposed thereon may move relative toan internal sensor portion of a housing of a fluid composition sensor.The alignment tape may be configured such that the plurality ofcollection media 106 may be moved (e.g., linearly shifted) relative tothe fluid composition sensor such that a fresh (e.g., unused) collectionmedia 106 of the plurality of collection media assemblies 150 may beexposed to a volume of fluid flowing through an impactor nozzle, asdescribed herein. As illustrated in FIG. 12, in various embodiments, theplurality of collection media assemblies 150 disposed upon the alignmenttape may be arranged so as to define a row of collection mediaassemblies 150 extending along the length of the alignment tape.

In various embodiments, at least a portion of the alignment tape uponwhich the plurality of collection media 106 is disposed may comprise atransparent substrate 108. For example, in various embodiments, theentirety of the alignment tape may comprise a transparent substrate 108(although it should be understood that portions of the alignment tapebetween collection media assemblies 150 may comprise an opaque ortranslucent material). Further, in various embodiments, the alignmenttape may comprise one or more alignment keys 151 configured to assistwith the manual and/or mechanical installation and/or alignment of acollection media 106 disposed upon the alignment tape in a position suchthat a volume of fluid flowing through the fluid composition sensor(e.g., through the impactor nozzle) may be passed across a surface ofthe collection media 106. In various embodiments, the one or morealignment keys 151 may be arranged about the alignment tape so as tocorrespond to a particular collection media assembly 150 of the rowdefined by the plurality of collection media assemblies 150.

The alignment tape may further comprise a plurality of orificescorresponding to the at least one orifice of each of the plurality ofcollection media assemblies 150, configured such that a volume of fluidmay flow therethrough. In various embodiments, each of the plurality ofcollection media assemblies 150 may comprise an air seal engagementportion surrounding a corresponding one of the plurality of collectionmedia 106 and the at least one orifice positioned adjacent thereto. Insuch a configuration, a volume of fluid flowing through the sensor maybe passed across a surface of the collection media 106 surrounded by anair seal engagement portion 115A engaged with an air seal component ofthe fluid composition sensor, as described herein. For example, thecollection media 106 surrounded by an air seal engagement portion thatis engaged with an air seal component of the fluid composition sensormay be fluidly isolated from each of the other collection media of theplurality of collection media disposed upon the alignment tape. Asdescribed herein, in various embodiments, the alignment tape maycomprise a non-rigid (e.g., flexible, bendable, foldable, and/or thelike) material. For example, each of the plurality of collection mediaassemblies 150 may be separated by a fold line, along which thealignment tape may be folded. In various embodiments, the non-rigidmaterial of the alignment tape may facilitate the compact storage of theplurality of collection media assemblies 150 such that the capacity ofthe fluid composition sensor may be increased.

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary apparatus inaccordance with an embodiment described herein. In particular, FIG. 13illustrates an exemplary collection media assembly storage chamber 160configured to house at least a portion of a plurality of collectionmedia. As described herein, in various embodiments, an exemplarycollection media assembly 150 may be configured so as to facilitate thecollective storage (e.g., stacking) and subsequent dispensing of each ofa plurality of collection media assemblies 150 into an internal sensorportion of a fluid composition sensor. As illustrated in FIG. 13, aplurality of exemplary collection media assemblies 150 may be disposedwithin the collection media assembly storage chamber 160. In variousembodiments, the collection media assembly storage chamber 160 may storea plurality of unused collection media assemblies prior to the pluralityof collection media assemblies being respectively used in sequence forparticle collection within a fluid composition sensor. The collectionmedia assembly storage chamber 160 may be configured so as to at leastsubstantially minimize the exposure of each of the collection mediaassemblies 150 stored therein to an ambient environment in order toavoid a contamination of the corresponding collection media 106.

As described herein, the collection media assembly storage chamber 160may be further configured to consecutively transmit each of theplurality of collection media assemblies 150 stored therein in series toan internal sensor portion of a fluid composition sensor. In variousembodiments, the collection media assembly storage chamber 160 maycomprise an actuator element 161 configured to selectively apply a forceto one of the plurality of collection media stored within the collectionmedia assembly storage chamber so as to reposition a collection mediaassembly 150 from the collection media assembly storage chamber 160towards an internal sensor portion of the fluid composition sensor. Forexample, the actuator element 161 may be configured to move from acompressed position, as illustrated in FIG. 13, to an extended position.As the actuator element 161 moves from the compressed position to theextended position, the actuator element 161 may be configured to apply aforce to a collection media assembly 150. In various embodiments, theforce applied to the collection media assembly 150 as the actuatorelement 161 moves from the compressed position to the extended positionmay cause the collection media assembly to be repositioned such that,when the actuator element 161 is in the extended position, thecollection media assembly 150 may be in a receiving position within theinternal sensor portion of the fluid composition sensor. In variousembodiments, a receiving position may be defined by an arrangement of acollection media assembly 150 within the internal sensor portion of thefluid composition sensor wherein the corresponding collection media 106is positioned such that a volume of fluid flowing through the fluidcomposition sensor (e.g., through an impactor nozzle) may be passedacross a surface thereof. In various embodiments, upon extending from acompressed position to an extended position (e.g., so as to position acollection media assembly 150 in a receiving position), the actuatorelement 161 may be configured to retract from the extended position backto the compressed position. Further, in various embodiments, theactuator element 161 may comprise a gear drive mechanism and/or a leverarm mechanism that may be configured to operate according to one or moreembodiments described herein.

As illustrated, the collection media assembly storage chamber 160 maycomprise a dispense opening 162 within one or more walls of the chamber,the dispense opening 162 being configured to allow one or more of thecollection media assemblies 150 stored within the collection mediaassembly storage chamber 160 to pass therethrough as the one or more ofthe collection media assemblies 150 are being transmitted to theinternal portion of the fluid composition sensor. In variousembodiments, the dispense opening 162 may comprise a dispense door thatmay be selectively opened and closed to facilitate the selectivedispense of a collection media assembly 150. For example, in theexemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13, the actuator element 161may be configured to apply a transverse (e.g., horizontal) force on acollection media assembly 150 positioned in a loading position (e.g., atan uppermost position in a stack of collection media assemblies) so asto dispense the collection media assembly 150 from the collection mediaassembly storage chamber 160 through the dispense opening 162. Asdescribed herein, the collection media assembly storage chamber 160 maybe positioned proximate a housing of the fluid composition sensor suchthat the housing is configured to receive the at least a portion ofcollection media assembly 150 dispensed from the collection mediaassembly storage chamber 160 by the extension of the actuator element161 repositioning a collection media assembly 150 through the dispenseopening. Accordingly, the dispense opening 162 may be at leastsubstantially planar with an internal sensor portion (e.g., a positionof a collection media assembly 150 when in use for collecting particlesof an airflow). As described above, the collection media assemblystorage chamber 160 may be configured to dispense a collection mediaassembly 150 through a dispense opening 162 (e.g., using an actuatorelement 161) so as to deliver the collection media assembly 150 to areceiving position within the internal sensor portion of the fluidcomposition sensor.

The collection media assembly storage chamber 160 may be configured toarrange within the chamber the plurality of collection media assemblies150 such that they may be consecutively transmitted in series from astorage location to a receiving position within the internal sensorportion of the fluid composition sensor, as described herein. Forexample, the collection media assembly storage chamber 160 may define aloading position arranged proximate and/or at least substantially planarwith the actuator element 161 and/or the dispense opening 162, wherein acollection media assembly 150 positioned in a loading position may bethe next collection media assembly 150 of the plurality disposed withinthe collection media assembly storage chamber 160 to be transmitted to afluid composition sensor (e.g., sequentially before each of the othercollection media assemblies stored within the collection media assemblystorage chamber 160). As illustrated in FIG. 13, the plurality ofcollection media assemblies 150 stored within the collection mediaassembly storage chamber 160 may be arranged in a stack. As shown, theloading position may comprise the position proximate the actuatorelement 161 and/or the dispense opening 162 (e.g., the top of thestack). In various embodiments, the collection media assembly storagechamber 160 may comprise a loading element 163 configured to arrange theplurality of collection media assemblies 150 disposed within thecollection media assembly storage chamber 160 such that, upon thedispense of a first collection media assembly, a second collection mediais moved within the collection media assembly storage chamber 160 into aloading position. For example, the loading element 163 may comprise aplate configured to which a bias force may be applied such that theplate transmits a corresponding loading force to one or more of theplurality of collection media assemblies 150. In such an exemplarycircumstance, a bias force may be applied (e.g., via a spring) to abottom surface of the loading element 163 so as to push a subsequentlystacked collection media assembly 150 of the plurality into the loadingposition. In various embodiments, the bias force applied to the loadingelement 163 and/or the loading force applied from the loading element163 to one or more of the plurality of collection media assemblies 150may be either a constant force or an intermittent force selectivelyapplied between subsequent collection media assembly 150 dispenses inorder to arrange the plurality of collection media assemblies such thatat least one collection media assembly 150 is in a loading position.

FIGS. 14A-14B illustrate an exemplary apparatus in accordance withvarious embodiments. As described herein, a fluid composition sensor maycomprise a housing 101, an illumination source 116, an impactor nozzle104, at least one collection media 106 disposed upon a transparentsubstrate 108, and an imaging device 110. In various embodiments, thefluid composition sensor may be configured to receive a volume of fluidwithin an internal sensor portion of the housing 101. The impactornozzle 104 may be configured to direct the flow of at least a portion ofthe volume of fluid received by the fluid composition sensor 100 in aflow direction 130 at least substantially perpendicular to and directedtoward a receiving surface of a collection media 106.

As described herein, the impactor nozzle 104 may be disposed within theinternal sensor portion of the housing 101 and may comprise a nozzleinlet configured to receive at least a portion of the volume of fluidreceived by the fluid composition sensor, a nozzle outlet, and aplurality of sidewalls extending between the nozzle inlet and the nozzleoutlet. Each of the plurality of sidewalls of the impactor nozzle maycomprise an inner sidewall and an outer sidewall. In variousembodiments, the nozzle inlet may comprise a nozzle inletcross-sectional area defined at least in part by a perimeter formed byeach of the inner sidewalls of the plurality of sidewalls at the nozzleinlet. Similarly, the nozzle outlet may comprise a nozzle outletcross-sectional area defined at least in part by a perimeter formed byeach of the inner sidewalls of the plurality of sidewalls at the nozzleoutlet. In various embodiments, the impactor nozzle 104 may furthercomprise a central nozzle axis extending perpendicularly between thenozzle inlet and the nozzle outlet.

In various embodiments, the impactor nozzle 104 may comprise a firstnozzle portion and a second nozzle portion, both of which may be definedat least in part by a portion of the plurality of sidewalls of theimpactor nozzle 104. The first nozzle portion may comprise a portion ofthe impactor nozzle 104 defined at least in part by at least one taperedinner sidewall extending between the nozzle inlet and an intermediatenozzle location. The second nozzle portion may comprise a portion of theimpactor nozzle 104 defined at least in part by at least one innersidewall extending between the intermediate nozzle location and thenozzle outlet. As described herein, the intermediate nozzle location maycomprise an intermediate nozzle cross-sectional area and may be definedby a plane arranged perpendicular to the central axis of the impactornozzle 104 between the first nozzle portion and the second nozzleportion. In various embodiments, the first nozzle portion may beconfigured such that the nozzle inlet cross-sectional area is largerthan the intermediate nozzle cross-sectional width. Further, asdescribed in further detail herein, the second nozzle portion may beconfigured such that the nozzle outlet cross-sectional area may beeither larger, smaller, or at least substantially the same size as theintermediate nozzle cross-sectional area. For example, as shown in FIG.14, the impactor nozzle 104 is configured such that the nozzle outletcross-sectional area and the intermediate nozzle cross-sectional areaare substantially the same size.

As described, the impactor nozzle 104 may receive at least a portion ofthe volume of fluid received by the fluid composition sensor 100 and maybe configured so as to direct the volume of fluid in a flow direction130 at least substantially perpendicular to and directed toward areceiving surface of a collection media 106. For example, flow direction130 may be at least substantially aligned and/or parallel with thecentral nozzle axis of the impactor nozzle 104. The collection media 106may be configured to receive one or more particles of a plurality ofparticles 120 within the volume of fluid via interaction with the volumeof fluid directed from the impactor nozzle 104. As described herein, thecollection media 106 may be a component of a collection media assembly,which may further comprise a transparent substrate 108 and at least oneorifice 111. As described herein, the at least one orifice 111 may beconfigured to enable at least a portion of the volume of fluid to passthrough the transparent substrate 108 and continue through the internalsensor portion in flow direction 130.

In various embodiments, the fluid composition sensor may furthercomprise one or more air seal components 115B configured to engage oneor more corresponding air seal engagement portions 115A of thecollection media assembly disposed within the internal sensor portion ofthe housing. As described herein, the one or more air seal components115B may be configured to surround at least the collection media 106 andthe corresponding at least one orifices 111 so as to fluidly isolate thecollection assembly 106 from an ambient environment such that at leastsubstantially all of the volume of fluid flowing through the fluidcomposition sensor flows through the at least one orifice 111.

As described, the fluid composition sensor may comprise an illuminationsource 116 configured to emit one or more light beams. In variousembodiments, the illumination source 116 may be a laser, lamp,light-emitting diode (LED), and/or the like, which may operate inconnection with one or more lenses collectively configured to generate alight beam (e.g., ultraviolet, visible, infrared, or multiple colorlight) that may be emitted toward the collection media 106, as describedherein in further detail. In some embodiments, the illumination source116 may be configured such that a lens is not required, such as, forexample, when the fluid composition sensor is configured to executelensless holography, as described herein. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 14B, the illumination source may be configured to emit the one ormore light beams in a light emission direction 131, such that the lightbeams may engage the collection media 106 and illuminate the one or moreparticles disposed within the collection media 106. Further, asdescribed herein, the fluid composition sensor may further comprise animaging device 110 configured to capture an image of the one or moreparticles of the plurality of particles 120 received by the collectionmedia 106. In various embodiments, the imaging device 110 may bepositioned at least substantially adjacent (e.g., in contact with orspaced a distance away from) the transparent substrate 108 such that theimaging device 110 may effectively capture one or more images of the oneor particles captured within the collection media 106. The collectionmedia 106 may reside at least partially within the field of view of theimaging device 110, such that the plurality of particles 120 captured bythe collection media 106 are visible by the imaging device 110. Invarious embodiments, the imaging device 110 may be configured to capturethe image of one or more particles of the plurality of particles 120received by the collection media 106 using one or more imagingtechniques such as, for example, lensless holography, opticalmicroscopy, and/or the like.

As described herein, in various embodiments, a fluid composition sensormay be configurable between an open housing configuration and a closedconfiguration. In particular, FIG. 14A illustrates a cross-sectionalview of an exemplary fluid composition sensor in a closed configuration.A fluid composition sensor in a closed housing configuration may bedefined at least in part by the engagement of the at least one air sealcomponents 115A with the air seal engagement portion of the collectionmedia assembly. As described herein, such an engagement by the fluidcomposition sensor in the closed configuration may provide a securedseal surrounding at least the collection media 106 and the one or morecorresponding orifices 111 so as to isolate the collection media 106 andthe one or more corresponding orifices 111 from a volume of ambientfluid, thereby minimizing unwarranted contamination of adjacent sectionsof the collection media 106.

FIG. 14B illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary fluidcomposition sensor in an open configuration. In various embodiments, afluid composition sensor in an open housing configuration may beconfigured so as to allow for the reconfiguration of a collection mediaassembly relative to at least a portion of the internal sensor portionof the housing 101. In various embodiments wherein the fluid compositionsensor is in an open configuration, a collection media assemblycomprising a collection media 106 disposed within the internal sensorportion of the fluid composition sensor may be reconfigured such thatthe collection media 106 is removed from the internal sensor portion.For example, the collection media assembly may be removed from theinternal sensor portion and transported to an exemplary secondarylocation. Additionally, wherein the fluid composition sensor is in anopen configuration, a collection media assembly comprising a collectionmedia 106 positioned outside of the housing 101 may be reconfigured suchthat the collection media 106 is deposited into the internal sensorportion of the housing 101. For example, the collection media assemblymay be rotated and/or shifted relative to the internal sensor portionsuch that the collection media 106 is arranged at least substantiallyadjacent the nozzle outlet of the impactor nozzle 104. Althoughillustrated with respect to various exemplary embodiments describedherein as comprising a physical opening such that one or more componentsof the fluid composition sensor disposed within the internal sensorportion of the housing may be exposed to a volume of ambient fluid, itshould be understood that, in various embodiments, the internal sensorportion of the fluid composition sensor may remain at leastsubstantially isolated from the ambient environment in an openconfiguration in order to avoid sensor contamination.

FIGS. 15-17 illustrate various cross-sectional views of exemplaryapparatuses in accordance with embodiments described herein. Inparticular, FIG. 15 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplaryfluid composition sensor in an open configuration, wherein the exemplaryfluid composition sensor comprises a plurality of collection mediaassemblies 150 disposed upon an alignment plate. For example, theplurality of collection media assemblies 150 disposed upon the alignmentplate me be arranged so as to define an array comprising plurality ofrows and/or columns. As described herein, the fluid composition sensormay be configured such that when the fluid composition sensor is in theopen configuration, the alignment plate may be moveable about atransverse plane in a plurality of directions such that the plurality ofcollection media assemblies 150 (e.g., comprising a plurality ofcollection media 106) disposed thereon may move relative to the internalsensor portion of a housing 101. The alignment plate may be configuredsuch that the plurality of collection media 106 may be moved (e.g.,linearly shifted and/or rotated) relative to the housing 101 such that afresh (e.g., unused) collection media 106 of the plurality of collectionmedia assemblies 150 may be exposed to a volume of fluid flowing throughan impactor nozzle 104. As described herein, upon the arrangement of anunused collection media 106 in a desired position at least substantiallyadjacent the nozzle outlet of the impactor nozzle 104, the fluidcomposition sensor may be reconfigured to a closed configuration,thereby securing the position of the collection media 106 relative tothe nozzle outlet.

FIG. 16 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary fluidcomposition sensor in an open configuration, wherein the exemplary fluidcomposition sensor comprises a plurality of independent collection mediaassemblies 150 each being configured to be consecutively disposed withinthe internal sensor portion of the fluid composition sensor in series.In various embodiments, the fluid composition sensor may comprise one ormore collection media assembly storage chambers configured to store atleast a portion of the plurality of collection media assemblies.Further, in various embodiments, each of the at least one collectionmedia assembly storage chambers may be configured to dispense intoand/or receive from the housing 101 one or more of the plurality ofcollection media assemblies 150. For example, as illustrated, the fluidcomposition sensor may comprise a first collection media assemblystorage chamber 160 and a second collection media assembly storagechamber 164.

As illustrated in FIG. 16, each of the plurality of collection mediaassemblies 150 comprise a collection media disposed upon a transparentsubstrate, a plurality of orifices arranged adjacent the correspondingcollection media and extending through the transparent substrate 108, anair seal engagement portion, and a collection media housing (e.g., aframe element). As described herein, in various embodiments, each of aplurality of collection media assemblies 150 may be configured so as tofacilitate the collective storage thereof in a collection media assemblystorage chamber. For example, as illustrated, at least a portion of theplurality of the collection media assemblies 150 may be organized in astacked configuration the corresponding collection media housings may bestacked relative to one another so as to minimize unwarrantedcontamination of a collection media through physical engagement of thecollection media with one or more components of an adjacent collectionmedia assembly (e.g., a corresponding collection media housing).

In various embodiments, the first collection media assembly storagechamber 160 may store a plurality of unused collection media assembliesprior to the plurality of collection media assemblies being respectivelyused for particle collection within a fluid composition sensor. Forexample, the first collection media assembly storage chamber 160 may beconfigured to arrange within the chamber the plurality of collectionmedia assemblies 150 such that they may be consecutively transmitted inseries from the first collection media assembly storage chamber 160 tothe internal sensor portion of the fluid composition sensor. In variousembodiments, the collection media assembly storage chamber 160 maycomprise an actuator element 161 configured to selectively apply a forceto one of the plurality of collection media stored within the firstcollection media assembly storage chamber 160 (e.g., in a loadingposition) so as to reposition the collection media assembly 150 from thecollection media assembly storage chamber 160 towards an internal sensorportion of the housing 101 of the fluid composition sensor (e.g., intoalignment with the impactor nozzle 104). For example, in the exemplaryembodiment illustrated in FIG. 16, the actuator element 161 of the firstcollection media assembly storage chamber 160 may be configured to applya transverse force to a collection media assembly 150 positioned in aloading position (e.g., at an uppermost position in a stack ofcollection media assemblies) so as to dispense the collection mediaassembly 150 from the first collection media assembly storage chamber160 and into the interior sensor portion of the fluid compositionsensor. As described herein, the first collection media assembly storagechamber 160 may be positioned proximate the housing of the fluidcomposition sensor such that the housing may configured to receive thecollection media assembly 150 dispensed from the collection mediaassembly storage chamber 160.

In various embodiments, the fluid composition sensor may comprise asecond collection media assembly storage chamber 164 configured to storea plurality of used collection media assemblies 150 (e.g., a collectionmedia assembly 150 comprising a collection media 106 that has beendisposed within the internal sensor portion and comprising a surfacethat has been passed over by at least one volume of fluid such that oneor more particles from the volume of fluid are disposed therein)dispensed from the fluid composition sensor housing. For example, thesecond collection media assembly storage chamber 164 may be configuredto receive the plurality of collection assemblies 150 consecutivelytransmitted in series from the internal sensor portion of the fluidcomposition sensor to the second collection media assembly storagechamber 168. The second collection media assembly storage chamber 164may comprise a deposit opening within one or more walls of the chamber,the deposit opening being configured to allow one or more of thecollection media assemblies 150 dispensed from the housing to passtherethrough such that the one or more collection media assemblies 150may be transmitted from the internal portion of the fluid compositionsensor to the second collection media assembly storage chamber 164. Invarious embodiments, the deposit opening may comprise a deposit doorthat may be selectively opened and closed to facilitate the selectivereceipt of a collection media assembly 150.

As described herein, upon determining that at least substantially theentirety of a sample volume of fluid has passed across a surface of acollection media 106, the fluid composition sensor may be configured todispense the used collection media 106 and repopulate the inner sensorportion with an unused collection media 106. In various embodiments, thefluid composition sensor may be configured to receive an unusedcollection media assembly 150 (e.g., an unused collection media 106)from the first collection media assembly storage chamber 160 andtransmit the used collection media 106 to the second collection mediaassembly storage chamber 164 at either a substantially similar time(e.g., simultaneously) or a different time (e.g., in sequence).

FIG. 17 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an exemplary fluidcomposition sensor in an open configuration, wherein the exemplary fluidcomposition sensor comprises a plurality of collection media assemblies150 disposed upon an alignment tape. As illustrated in FIG. 17, theplurality of collection media assemblies 150 disposed upon the alignmenttape may be arranged so as to define a row of collection mediaassemblies 150 extending along the length of the alignment tape. Invarious embodiments, the alignment tape may be moveable in a directionat least substantially parallel with a linear axis extending along thelength of the alignment tape such that the plurality of collection mediaassemblies 150 (e.g., comprising a plurality of collection media 106)disposed thereon may move relative to an internal sensor portion of ahousing of a fluid composition sensor. In various embodiments, at leasta portion of the alignment tape may be wound about both the firstalignment tape spool 165A and the second alignment tape spool 165B,which may be collectively arranged such that at least a portion of thealignment tape may extend therebetween. The first alignment tape spool165A and the second alignment tape spool 165B may be further configuredsuch that the at least a portion of the alignment tape extendingtherebetween may have at least one collection media assembly 150disposed thereon. For example, the fluid composition sensor may beconfigured such that the collection media assembly 150 disposed upon theat least a portion of the alignment tape extending between the firstalignment tape spool 165A and the second alignment tape spool 165B maybe disposed within the internal sensor portion at least substantiallyadjacent the nozzle outlet of the impactor nozzle 104.

In various embodiments, wherein the fluid composition sensor is in anopen configuration, as illustrated, the alignment tape may be configuredsuch that the plurality of collection media 106 may be moved (e.g.,linearly shifted) relative to the fluid composition sensor housing suchthat a fresh (e.g., unused) collection media 106 of the plurality ofcollection media assemblies 150 may be exposed to a volume of fluidflowing through an impactor nozzle 104, as described herein. Forexample, the alignment tape may be configured to move relative to thehousing of the fluid composition sensor based at least in part on therotation of the first alignment tape spool 165A and the second alignmenttape spool 165B. The first alignment tape spool 165A and the secondalignment tape spool 165B may be configured to rotate in unison (e.g.,in the same rotational direction at the same rate) such that the portionof the alignment tape extending therebetween may maintain aconfiguration wherein the one or more collection media 106 disposedthereon are at least substantially perpendicular to a central axis ofthe impactor nozzle 104.

FIGS. 18A-18D schematically illustrate exemplary apparatuses inaccordance with various embodiments described herein. In particular,FIGS. 18A-18D schematically illustrate exemplary apparatuses comprisingvarious impactor nozzle configurations in accordance with variousembodiments described herein. As described herein, a fluid compositionsensor may comprise an illumination source 116, an impactor nozzle 104,a collection media 106 disposed upon a transparent substrate 108, and animaging device 110. In various embodiments, a fluid composition sensormay be configured to receive a volume of fluid comprising a plurality ofparticles. The fluid composition sensor may be further configured toutilize the impactor nozzle 104 to direct the volume of fluid toward areceiving surface of a collection media 106 in a flow direction at leastsubstantially perpendicular to the collection media 106, so as tofacilitate the engagement of the collection media 106 by the volume offluid such the at least a portion of the plurality of particles withinthe volume of fluid may be disposed into the collection media 106.

As described herein, the impactor nozzle 104 may comprise a nozzle inletconfigured to receive at least a portion of the volume of fluid receivedby the fluid composition sensor, a nozzle outlet, and a plurality ofsidewalls extending between the nozzle inlet and the nozzle outlet. Eachof the plurality of sidewalls of the impactor nozzle may comprise aninner sidewall 104A and an outer sidewall 104B. In various embodiments,the nozzle inlet may comprise a nozzle inlet cross-sectional areadefined at least in part by a perimeter formed by each of the innersidewalls 104A of the plurality of sidewalls at the nozzle inlet.Similarly, the nozzle outlet may comprise a nozzle outletcross-sectional area defined at least in part by a perimeter formed byeach of the inner sidewalls 104A of the plurality of sidewalls at thenozzle outlet. In various embodiments, the impactor nozzle 104 mayfurther define a central nozzle axis extending perpendicularly betweenthe nozzle inlet and the nozzle outlet.

As illustrated in FIG. 18A, the impactor nozzle 104 may comprise a firstnozzle portion 104C and a second nozzle portion 104D, both of which maybe defined at least in part by a portion of the plurality of sidewallsof the impactor nozzle 104. The first nozzle portion 104C may comprise aportion of the impactor nozzle 104 defined at least in part by at leastone tapered inner sidewall extending between the nozzle inlet and anintermediate nozzle location 104E. The second nozzle 104D portion maycomprise a portion of the impactor nozzle 104 defined at least in partby at least a portion of one or more inner sidewalls 104A extendingbetween the intermediate nozzle location 104E and the nozzle outlet. Asdescribed herein, the intermediate nozzle location 104E may comprise anintermediate nozzle cross-sectional area and may be defined by a planearranged at least substantially perpendicular the central axis of theimpactor nozzle 104 between the first nozzle portion 104C and the secondnozzle portion 104D. In various embodiments, the first nozzle portion104C may comprise a tapered configuration wherein the nozzle inletcross-sectional area is larger than the intermediate nozzlecross-sectional area. Further, in various embodiments, the second nozzleportion may be configured such that the nozzle outlet cross-sectionalarea may be either larger, smaller, or at least substantially the samesize as the intermediate nozzle cross-sectional area. For example, asshown in FIG. 18A, the impactor nozzle 104 is configured such that thenozzle outlet cross-sectional area and the intermediate nozzlecross-sectional area are substantially the same size. As described, thevariable cross-sectional areas of the various sections of the impactornozzle 104 may be configured to increase the velocity of the volume offluid flowing through the nozzle (e.g., the plurality of particlestherein) and induce laminar flow such that at least a portion of theparticles of the plurality of particles within the volume of fluidcomprise a momentum sufficient to impact the collection media 106 andbecome disposed therein.

In various embodiments, the illumination source 116 may be a laser,lamp, light-emitting diode (LED), and/or the like, which may generateone or more light beams 300 (e.g., ultraviolet, visible, infrared, ormultiple color light) that may be emitted toward the collection media106. For example, the illumination source 116 may be configured to emitthe one or more light beams 300 in a light emission direction, such thatthe light beams may engage the collection media 106 and illuminate theone or more particles disposed within the collection media 106. Further,as described herein, the imaging device 110 of the fluid compositionsensor may be configured to utilize the one or more light beams 300 inorder to capture an image of the one or more particles of the pluralityof particles 120 received by the collection media 106 using one or moreimaging techniques such as, for example in situ imaging (e.g., lenslessholography) and/or the like.

In various embodiments, the fluid composition sensor may be configuredsuch that one or more illumination sources 116 may be arranged relativeto the central nozzle axis of the impactor nozzle 104. For example, asillustrated in FIGS. 18A-18D, the fluid composition sensor may beconfigured such that the illumination source 116 is at leastsubstantially aligned with the central nozzle axis of the impactornozzle 104. In such a configuration, the illumination source 116 mayemit the one or more light beams 300 in a light emission directionextending that is at least substantially similar to that of the centralnozzle axis, such that at least a portion of the one or more light beams300 extend through both the nozzle inlet and the nozzle outlet of theimpactor nozzle 104 to illuminate the one or more particles disposed inthe collection media 106. In various embodiments, as the one or morelight beams 300 extend away from the illumination source 116 toward thecollection media 106 in a light emission direction, the one or morelight beams 300 may naturally diverge from the light emission directionsuch that the one or more light beams 300 may define a light beamemission angle. In such a circumstance, the one or more light beams maycollectively embody a cone-shaped light beam defined at least in part byan outer edge thereof, wherein the cross-sectional area of thecone-shaped light beam increases as it extends toward the collectionmedia 106 (e.g., along the central axis of the nozzle 104). In variousembodiments, a light beam angle may correspond to an angle measuredbetween an original light emission direction of a light beam (e.g., thecentral axis of the impactor nozzle 104) and an outer edge of the one ormore light beams (e.g., the divergent light beam).

As illustrated in FIG. 18A, a divergent light beam 300 (comprising oneor more light beams) may comprise an outer edge and an interior lightbeam portion 301, defined by the portion of the divergent light beamwithin the outer edge. For example, the divergent light beam 300 emittedfrom the illumination source 116 may be defined at least in part byouter edge 310. Further, the divergent light beam 300 may be furtherdefined at least in part by an outer light beam angle 311 correspondingto an angle of divergence measured at the outer edge 310 (e.g., theangle measured between the outer edge 310 and the central axis of theimpactor nozzle 104). For example, in various embodiments, at least aportion of the divergent light beam 300 may be constrained byintermediate nozzle location 104E.

In various embodiments, at least a portion of the interior portion 301of the divergent light beam 300 may comprise a light beam angle that issufficiently small so as to be emitted from the illumination source 116and travel along a light emission travel path to the collection media106 without substantially engaging a sidewall of the impactor nozzle104. For example, the impactor nozzle 104 may be configured such that aportion of the interior portion 301 of the divergent light beam 300defined by an intermediate edge 320 and an intermediate light beam angle321 may extend between the illumination source 116 and the collectionmedia 106 through both the nozzle inlet and the nozzle outlet withoutsubstantially engaging an interior sidewall 104A of the impactor nozzle104.

Further, in various embodiments, the impactor nozzle 104 may beconfigured such that at least a portion of the divergent light beam 300traveling therethrough may be incident on one or more of the interiorsidewalls 104A. In such a circumstance, the portion of the divergentlight beam incident on the interior sidewalls 104A may reflect and/orscatter off of the interior sidewalls 104A. For example, as illustrated,a portion of the interior portion 301 of the divergent light beam 300defined by a light beam angle larger than the intermediate light beamangle 321 (e.g., outer light beam angle 321) and extending radiallybetween the intermediate edge 320 and the outer edge 310 may be incidenton the inner sidewalls 104A of the impactor nozzle 104. As such, areflected portion 322 of the divergent light beam 300 may be generated.As shown, the reflected portion 322 may correspond to the portion of theinterior portion 301 of the divergent light beam 300 incident on theinterior sidewall of the second nozzle portion 104D. For example, thereflected portion 322, upon engaging the inner sidewall 104A may bediverted so as to travel through the nozzle outlet in a reflectiondirection that is substantially different than the light emissiondirection defined by the one or more light beams corresponding to thereflected portion 322 at the illumination source 116. In variousembodiments, at least a portion of the reflected portion 322 of thedivergent light beam 300 may proceed to illuminate collection media 106and/or the imaging device 110. In such a circumstance, the reflectedportion 322 of the divergent light beam 300 may affect the performanceof the imaging device 110, causing, for example, optical interferencethat may be manifested by spatial variation of the apparent illuminationintensity captured by the imaging device 110. In various embodiments,the reflected portion 322 may produce image noise that may at leastpartially obscure one or more features of the one or more particlesdisposed within the collection media 106, as described herein.

FIGS. 18B-18C schematically illustrate exemplary apparatuses comprisingvarious impactor nozzle configurations in accordance with variousembodiments described herein. In particular, FIGS. 18B-18C schematicallyillustrate an exemplary apparatus comprising an impactor nozzle 104configured to avoid the generation of a reflected light beam portion, asdescribed herein, caused by a portion of the divergent light beam 300being incident on a sidewall of the impactor nozzle 104. As illustrated,the impactor nozzle 104 may be configured such that the second nozzleportion 104D may comprise at least one tapered inner sidewall extendingbetween the intermediate nozzle location 104E and nozzle outlet. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 18B, the inner sidewall 104A at thesecond portion of the impactor nozzle 104 may comprise a taperedconfiguration defined at least in part by a taper angle 143A, such thatthe nozzle outlet cross-sectional area of the impactor nozzle 104 islarger than the intermediate nozzle cross-sectional area. In variousembodiments, the taper angle 143 of the second nozzle portion maycorrespond to at least one light beam emission angle of the divergentlight beam 300 emitted from the illumination source 116 (e.g., the outerlight beam emission angle 311). For example, the taper angle 143 of thesecond nozzle portion may be at least as large as the outer light beamemission angle 311 corresponding to the outer light beam 310, asdescribed herein, and therefore, may be at least as large as each of thelight beam emission angles corresponding to the one or more light beamsdefined by the divergent light beam 300. In such an exemplary impactornozzle 104 configuration, the interior wall 104A of the second nozzleportion of the impactor nozzle 104 may avoid interfering with the outeredge 310 of the divergent light beam 300, thereby avoiding thegeneration of a reflected light beam portion, as described herein.

As illustrated in FIG. 18C, in various embodiments, the taper angle 143Amay reflect a difference of the configuration of the interior sidewall104A as illustrated and an exemplary interior sidewall comprising astraight configuration (e.g., wherein the nozzle outlet cross-sectionalarea and the intermediate nozzle cross-sectional width are at leastsubstantially similar, as illustrated in FIG. 18A). In variousembodiments, the taper angle 143A may be sufficiently small so as tominimally impact the velocity and/or laminar flow of an exemplary volumeof fluid flowing therethrough, as described herein. For example, basedat least in part on the configuration of the illumination source 116,the taper angle 143A may be at least substantially between 1 and 10degrees (e.g., between 2 and 5 degrees). In various embodiments, thetaper angle 143A may be defined at least in part by the intermediatenozzle cross-sectional width and the distance between the illuminationsource 116 and the intermediate nozzle location. For example, in variousembodiments, the taper angle Θ 143A may be defined by the equationbelow:

$(\Theta) \geq {\tan^{- 1}\left( \frac{0.5*{Intermediate}\mspace{14mu}{Nozzle}\mspace{14mu}{Cross}\text{-}{SectionalWidth}}{\begin{matrix}{{Distance}\mspace{14mu}{between}\mspace{14mu}{Illumination}\mspace{14mu}{Source}} \\{116\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}{Intermediate}\mspace{14mu}{Nozzle}\mspace{14mu}{Location}}\end{matrix}} \right)}$

Further, although illustrated with respect to various exemplaryembodiments described herein as comprising linear (e.g., straight)sidewalls, it should be understood that, in various embodiments, one ormore of the plurality of sidewalls of the impactor nozzle 104 maycomprise an at least partially curved configuration. For example, asillustrated in FIGS. 18B-18C, the transition between the first nozzleportion and the second nozzle portion (e.g., about an intermediatenozzle location) may define a radius of curvature. As another example,the interior walls 104A of the impactor nozzle 104 may be at leastpartially curved such that no part of the divergent light beam 200 isincident on the sidewalls 104A.

FIG. 18D schematically illustrates an exemplary apparatus comprising animpactor nozzle configuration in accordance with various embodimentsdescribed herein. In particular, FIG. 18D schematically illustrates anexemplary apparatus comprising an impactor nozzle 104 configured toavoid the generation of a reflected light beam portion, as describedherein, caused by a portion of the divergent light beam 300 beingincident on a sidewall of the impactor nozzle 104. As illustrated, theimpactor nozzle 104 may be configured such that the second nozzleportion, extending between the intermediate nozzle location and nozzleoutlet, may comprise a straight configuration, wherein the nozzle outletcross-sectional area and the intermediate nozzle cross-sectional widthare at least substantially similar. For example, each of the interiorsidewalls 104A on opposing sides of the central nozzle axis of theimpactor nozzle may define an at least substantially parallelconfiguration, such that the taper angle 143 of the second nozzleportion may be at least substantially zero.

In various embodiments, in order to avoid interfering with the divergentlight beam 300 (e.g., with the outer edge 310), at least a portion ofone or more of the plurality of sidewalls of the impactor nozzle may belaterally moved in an outward direction (e.g., away from the centralnozzle axis) so as to increase the nozzle outlet cross-sectional areaand/or the intermediate cross-sectional area. The displacement of the atleast a portion one or more of the plurality of sidewalls mayeffectively widen the second nozzle portion so as to enable the passageof the divergent light beam 300 through the impactor nozzle 104 withoutthe interference of one or more of the interior sidewalls 104A. Asdescribed herein, in such an embodiment, the nozzle sidewalls may bemoved in an outward direction (e.g., away from the central nozzle axis)for purposes of particle analysis (e.g., image acquisition) and may bemoved in an inward direction (e.g., toward the central nozzle axis) forpurposes of particle collection (e.g., controlling the flow of fluidtoward the collection media 106). As illustrated in FIG. 18D, theportion of one or more of the plurality of sidewalls defining the nozzleoutlet may be displaced away from the central axis of the nozzle at afirst sidewall displacement distance 144A. In various embodiments, oneor more of the plurality of sidewalls may be displaced away from thecentral axis at different distances, such as, for example, a secondsidewall displacement distance 144B. Alternatively, or additionally, invarious embodiments, one or more of the plurality of sidewalls may bedisplaced away from the central axis of the nozzle at substantially thesame distance, such as, for example, wherein the first sidewalldisplacement distance 144A and the second sidewall displacement distance144B are at least substantially similar. In various embodiments, one ormore of the sidewall displacement distances 144A, 144B may correspond,at least in part, to the outer light beam emission angle 311 of thedivergent light beam 300 emitted from the illumination source 116. Forexample, in various embodiments, one or more of the sidewalldisplacement distances 144A, 144B may be defined at least in part by theoutlet nozzle dimensions, the distance between the illumination source116 and the nozzle outlet, and the divergence angle of the illuminationbeam(s).

In various embodiments, as described herein, the fluid compositionsensor may comprise an exemplary impactor nozzle 104 that may beselectively configurable between a first nozzle configuration and asecond nozzle configuration. For example, in various embodiments thefirst nozzle configuration correspond may to a particle collectionfunctionality of the fluid composition sensor, and the second nozzleconfiguration may correspond to a particle analysis functionality of thefluid composition sensor. As described herein, the particle collectionfunctionality of the fluid composition sensor may correspond to thefluid composition sensor receiving a volume of fluid comprising aplurality of particles and utilizing an impactor nozzle 104 to directthe volume of fluid toward a receiving surface of a collection media 106in a flow direction at least substantially perpendicular to thecollection media 106, so as to facilitate the engagement of thecollection media 106 by the volume of fluid such that at least a portionof the plurality of particles within the volume of fluid may be disposedinto the collection media 106. For example, in order to enable theparticle collection functionality, the impactor nozzle 104 may beconfigured such that the nozzle outlet thereof is positioned at leastsubstantially adjacent the collection media 106. Further, as describedherein, the particle analysis functionality of the fluid compositionsensor, may correspond to the fluid composition sensor capturing animage of the one or more particles received by the collection media 106and determining, based at least in part on the image, at least oneparticle characteristic of volume of fluid received by the fluidcomposition sensor. For example, in order to enable the particleanalysis functionality of the fluid composition sensor, the illuminationsource 116 may be configured to emit one or more light beams so as toengage the collection media 106 and illuminate the one or more particlesreceived by collection media 106, as described herein.

As described herein, in various embodiments, the particle collectionfunctionality and the particle analysis functionality of the fluidcomposition sensor may occur in sequence, such that upon determiningthat an entirety of a sample volume of fluid has passed across a surfaceof a collection media 106, and thus that the need for the particlecollection functionality of the fluid composition sensor has been atleast temporarily exhausted, the fluid composition sensor may beconfigured to initiate the particle analysis functionality. Accordingly,in various embodiments, the fluid composition sensor may be configuredto selectively alternate between the first nozzle configuration,corresponding with the particle collection functionality, and the secondnozzle configuration, corresponding with the particle analysisfunctionality. For example, in one exemplary embodiment, the firstnozzle configuration may be embodied by the exemplary nozzleconfiguration illustrated in FIG. 18A, described in further detailherein. The variable cross-sectional areas of the various sections andthe minimized nozzle outlet cross-sectional area of the impactor nozzle104 may be configured to increase the velocity of the volume of fluidflowing through the nozzle and induce laminar flow such that at least aportion of the plurality of particles within the volume of fluid maybecome disposed within the collection media 106 upon impact therewith.Further, in one exemplary embodiment, the second nozzle configurationmay be embodied by the exemplary nozzle configuration illustrated inFIG. 18D, described in further detail herein. Wherein the particleanalysis functionality of the fluid composition sensor may be enabled bythe emission of one or more light beams (e.g., the divergent light beam300) from the illumination source 116, an impactor nozzle 104 in thesecond nozzle configuration may avoid the generation of areflected/scattered light beam portion, as described herein, caused by aportion of the divergent light beam 300 being incident on a sidewall ofthe impactor nozzle 104. In order to avoid interfering with thedivergent light beam 300 (e.g., with the outer edge 310), at least aportion of one or more of the plurality of sidewalls of the impactornozzle 104 may be laterally moved in a direction away from the centralnozzle axis so as to increase the nozzle outlet cross-sectional areaand/or the intermediate cross-sectional area. The displacement of the atleast a portion one or more of the plurality of sidewalls may widen atleast a portion of the impactor nozzle 104 so as to enable the passageof the divergent light beam 300 therethrough without the interference ofone or more of the interior sidewalls 104A.

In various embodiments, the impactor nozzle 104 may be selectivelyconfigured between the first nozzle configuration or the second nozzleconfiguration based at least in part on either the application and/orremoval of an applied force. For example, in various embodiments, thefluid composition sensor may be configured to alternate an impactornozzle 104 from the first nozzle configuration to the second nozzleconfiguration by applying a force in an outward direction (e.g., awayfrom the central nozzle axis) at one or more of the plurality ofsidewalls of the impactor nozzle 104 in order to cause at least aportion of the sidewall to be displaced a first sidewall displacementdistance 144A in the corresponding outward direction. In such acircumstance, the fluid composition sensor may be configured toselectively alternate the impactor nozzle 104 from the second nozzleconfiguration back to the first nozzle configuration by either removingthe force being applied in the outward direction or applying an equalforce in an inward direction (e.g., a direction opposite the outwarddirection) at the one or more of the plurality of sidewalls of theimpactor nozzle 104.

Alternatively, in various embodiments, the fluid composition sensor maybe configured to alternate an impactor nozzle 104 from the first nozzleconfiguration to the second nozzle configuration by removing a forcebeing applied in an inward direction (e.g., toward the central nozzleaxis) at one or more of the plurality of sidewalls of the impactornozzle 104 in order to cause at least a portion of the sidewall to bedisplaced by a first sidewall displacement distance 144A in an outwarddirection that is at least substantially opposite the inward direction.In such a circumstance, the fluid composition sensor may be configuredto selectively alternate the impactor nozzle 104 from the second nozzleconfiguration back to the first nozzle configuration by reapplying theinward force at the one or more of the plurality of sidewalls of theimpactor nozzle 104 in order to cause the at least a portion of thesidewall to be retracted a first sidewall displacement distance 144A inthe corresponding inward direction.

Further, in various embodiments, an impactor nozzle 104 in a secondnozzle may be defined at least in part by a central nozzle axis that isreconfigured about the fluid composition sensor housing relative to thelocation of a central nozzle axis defined of an exemplary impactornozzle in the first nozzle configuration. For example, the entirety ofthe impactor nozzle 104 may be rotated, shifted, and/or the like to asecond nozzle location about the housing of the fluid composition sensorsuch that an impactor nozzle 104 in the second nozzle configuration mayavoid the generation of a reflected light beam portion caused by aportion of the divergent light beam 300 being incident on the impactornozzle 104.

FIGS. 19A-19C illustrate perspective views of an exemplary apparatus inaccordance with various embodiments. In particular, FIGS. 19A-19Cillustrate an exemplary impactor nozzle configuration in accordance withvarious embodiments described herein. In various embodiments, animpactor nozzle 104 may comprise a plurality of nozzle components (e.g.,two components, three components, five components, and/or the like) maybe at least partially pieced together to collectively define theimpactor nozzle 104. As illustrated in FIG. 19A, an impactor nozzle 104may comprise two nozzle components, a first nozzle component 141 and asecond nozzle component 142. In various embodiments, the first nozzlecomponent 141 and the second nozzle component 142 may embody twodistinct components of an impactor nozzle 104 respectively defined atleast in part by corresponding elements such that the two distinctcomponents may be pieced together to collectively define the impactornozzle 104. As illustrated, and as described herein, the exemplaryimpactor nozzle 104 defined by the first nozzle component 141 and thesecond nozzle component 142 may comprise a nozzle inlet, a nozzleoutlet, and a plurality of sidewalls extending between the nozzle inletand the nozzle outlet. Each of the plurality of sidewalls of theimpactor nozzle may comprise an inner sidewall and an outer sidewall. Invarious embodiments, the nozzle inlet may comprise a nozzle inletcross-sectional area defined at least in part by a perimeter formed byeach of the inner sidewalls of the plurality of sidewalls at the nozzleinlet. Similarly, the nozzle outlet may comprise a nozzle outletcross-sectional area defined at least in part by a perimeter formed byeach of the inner sidewalls of the plurality of sidewalls at the nozzleoutlet. In various embodiments, the impactor nozzle 104 may furthercomprise a central nozzle axis extending perpendicularly between thenozzle inlet and the nozzle outlet. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 19A,the first nozzle component 141 and the second nozzle component 142 maybe configured such that the impactor nozzle 104 may comprise a firstnozzle portion, a second nozzle portion, and an intermediate nozzlelocation positioned therebetween. The first nozzle component 141 and thesecond nozzle component 142 may be configured such that the first nozzleportion and the second nozzle portion of the impactor nozzle 104 areconfigured according to various exemplary embodiments described infurther detail herein. In various embodiments, the first nozzlecomponent 141 and the second nozzle component 142 may comprise differentcharacteristics such as, for example, material composition.

FIG. 19B illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary first nozzleportion 141 in accordance with various embodiments. In variousembodiments, the first nozzle portion 141 may comprise an upper portiondefining a first nozzle portion inlet and one or more first nozzleportion sidewalls. In various embodiments, one or more first nozzleportion sidewalls may define at least a portion of the plurality ofplurality of sidewalls of the impactor nozzle 104. As shown, the firstnozzle portion 141 comprises two first nozzle portion sidewalls 141A,141B.

FIG. 19C illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary second nozzleportion 141 in accordance with various embodiments. In variousembodiments, the second nozzle portion 142 may comprise an upper portiondefining a second nozzle portion inlet and one or more second nozzleportion sidewalls. In various embodiments, one or more second nozzleportion sidewalls may define at least a portion of the plurality ofsidewalls of the impactor nozzle 104. As shown, the second nozzleportion 142 comprises two second nozzle portion sidewalls 142A, 142B.

In various embodiments, as described herein, the first nozzle component141 and the second nozzle component 142 may comprise correspondingelements that may be pieced together to collectively define the impactornozzle 104. For example, the upper portions of the first nozzlecomponent 141 and the second nozzle component 142 may be configured soas to engage one another in a stacked configuration. The respectiveupper portions may be at least substantially aligned so as tocollectively define, at least in part, the nozzle inlet of the impactornozzle 104. Further, in various embodiments, the one or more sidewallsof both the first nozzle component 141 and the second nozzle component142 may be configured so as to engage one another in order to define theplurality of sidewalls of the impactor nozzle 104. For example, asillustrated, the first nozzle component 141 is engaged with the secondnozzle component 142 such that the two first nozzle component sidewalls141A, 141B and the two second nozzle component sidewalls 142A, 142Bcollectively define the plurality of sidewalls of the impactor nozzle104. The two first nozzle component sidewalls 141A, 141B and the twosecond nozzle component sidewalls 142A, 142B may be arranged so as tocollectively define a first nozzle portion, a second nozzle portion, andthe nozzle outlet.

FIGS. 20A-20B an exemplary impactor nozzle configuration in accordancewith various embodiments described herein. In particular, FIGS. 20A-20Billustrate an exemplary impactor nozzle configuration wherein one ormore of the plurality of sidewalls may be selectively reconfigured. Invarious embodiments, as described herein, an exemplary impactor nozzlemay be selectively reconfigured (e.g., from a first nozzle configurationto a second nozzle configuration) based at least in part on one or moreenvironmental circumstances. For example, in an exemplary embodimentdescribed herein in reference to FIG. 18D, an impactor nozzle 104 may beselectively reconfigured from a first nozzle configuration to a secondnozzle configuration at least in part by laterally moving at least aportion of one or more of the plurality of sidewalls of the impactornozzle in an outward direction (e.g., away from a central nozzle axis)to increase the nozzle outlet cross-sectional area and/or theintermediate cross-sectional area so as to effectively widen at least aportion of the impactor nozzle 104.

As illustrated in FIG. 20A, an impactor nozzle 104 may be configuredsuch that at least a portion of each of the two first nozzle componentsidewalls 141A, 141B and the two second nozzle component sidewalls 142A,142B, collectively defining the plurality of sidewalls of the impactornozzle 104, may be independently moveable relative to a central nozzleaxis of the impactor nozzle 104. As shown, each of the plurality ofsidewalls (e.g., the two first nozzle component sidewalls 141A, 141B andthe two second nozzle component sidewalls 142A, 142B) of the exemplaryimpactor nozzle 104 of has been laterally displaced in an outwarddirection.

FIG. 20B illustrates a top cross-sectional view of the exemplaryimpactor nozzle 104 defined at least in part by a nozzle configurationwherein each of the plurality of sidewalls has been laterally displacedin an outward direction away from the central nozzle axis 104F. Each ofplurality of sidewalls of the impactor nozzle 104 may move at leastsubstantially independently from each of the other sidewalls of theplurality of sidewalls. For example, as shown, the configuration offirst nozzle component sidewall 141A may define a first sidewalldisplacement distance 144A, the first sidewall displacement distance144A extending in an outward direction from the central nozzle axis104F. Further, as shown, the configuration of first nozzle componentsidewall 141B may define a second sidewall displacement distance 144B,the second sidewall displacement distance 144B extending in an outwarddirection from the central nozzle axis 104F. As shown, the configurationof second nozzle component sidewall 142A may define a third sidewalldisplacement distance 145A, the third sidewall displacement distance145A extending in an outward direction from the central nozzle axis104F. Additionally, as shown, the configuration of second nozzlecomponent sidewall 142B may define a fourth sidewall displacementdistance 145B, the fourth sidewall displacement distance 145B extendingin an outward direction from the central nozzle axis 104F. In variousembodiments, the sidewall displacement distances 144A, 144B, 145A, 145Bmay comprise either the same or different distances.

Particle Impaction Depth

As discussed herein, each of the one or more particles of the pluralityof particles 120 may comprise one or more particles characteristics,such as, for example, particle size, particle mass, particle density,particle velocity (e.g., particle linear velocity), particlecross-sectional area, and particle shape. In various embodiments, aparticle size of a particle may be approximated based on a particlediameter. In various embodiments, the particle velocity of a particlemay be approximated based at least in part on a known flow rate of fluidmoving through the device 10. In various embodiments, a particletravelling at a particle velocity in an air flow direction 130 towardsthe collection media 106 may further comprise a particle momentum, whichmay be affected at least in part by the one or more particlecharacteristics. When a particle is at a receiving surface 105 of thecollection media 106, the particle may define an initial momentum. Thedepth at which the particle is subsequently embedded into the collectionmedia (i.e. a particle impaction depth 121) is directly related at leastin part to the initial momentum of the particle. In various embodiments,the particle impaction depth 121 may be related to the particle size,the particle mass, and the particle velocity.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, each particle of the plurality of particles120 within the collection media 106 may further define both an impactiondepth 121 and a depth of focus 122. In various embodiments, an impactiondepth 121 of a particle may comprise the distance between a receivingsurface 105 of the collection media 106 and the location at which theparticle is stopped within the collection media 106. As describedherein, the particle may travel in an air flow direction 130 through thereceiving surface 105 at a velocity and become lodged within thecollection media 106 before reaching the backside 107. The depth atwhich the particle is embedded into the collection media 106 may definethe impaction depth 121 of the particle. The impaction depth 121 of aparticle may be correlated to at least an initial momentum of theparticle at the receiving surface 105 of the collection media that mustbe dissipated by the collection media 106. In various embodiments, theimpaction depth 121 of a particle may be affected by a collection mediatype, a particle shape (e.g., a particle cross-sectional area, aparticle orientation), an ambient temperature, and/or an ambienthumidity. In various embodiments, for example, a compensation factor maybe applied to the estimated mass of a particle to account for theparticle cross-sectional area because a larger particle cross-sectionalarea will disperse kinetic energy more quickly within the collectionmedia, thereby decreasing the particle impaction depth. In variousembodiments, a compensation factor may be applied to the estimated massof a particle to account for the ambient temperature and/or ambienthumidity because both the ambient temperature and ambient humidityaffect the viscosity of the collection media, and therefore, may eitherincrease or decrease the resistance force experienced by a particle froma collection media, thereby affecting the particle impaction depth. Invarious embodiments, the ambient temperature and humidity may bemeasured by either the device or one or more remote sensors configuredto transmit temperature and humidity data to the device.

In various embodiments, the impaction depth 121 of one or more particlesof the plurality of particles 120 may be determined by the controller200 based at least in part on a depth of focus 122. In variousembodiments, the impaction depth 121 of a particle within the collectionmedia 106 may be calculated by subtracting the measured depth of focus122 of a particle from the sum of the collection media thickness, thetransparent substrate thickness, and the distance between thetransparent substrate 108 and the imaging device 110. In variousembodiments, the depth of focus 122 of a particle may comprise thedistance between an imaging device 110 and the location at which theparticle is stopped within the collection media 106. In variousembodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the depth of focus 122 of a particlewithin the collection media 106 may comprise the sum of the distancebetween the location at which the particle is stopped within thecollection media 106 and a backside 107 of the collection media 106, thethickness of the transparent substrate 108, and the distance between thetransparent substrate 108 and the imaging device 110. In variousembodiments, the depth of focus 122 of one or more particles of theplurality of particles 120 may be determined by the controller 200 usingone or more image focusing techniques, such as, a computationaltechnique (e.g., Angular Spectrum Propagation (ASP)) or a mechanicaltechnique (e.g., opto-mechanical adjustment). In various embodiments,opto-mechanical adjustment may comprise the mechanical adjustment of oneor more components of a lens-based imaging device 110 so as to optimizea particle image. In various embodiments, may further comprisecollecting data corresponding to the adjustment of the one or morecomponents of the imaging device in order to determine a depth of focus.

Controller

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the device 10 may comprise a controller 200configured to determine a particle impaction depth 121 of each of theone or more particles of the plurality of particles 120 within thecollection media 106, and based at least in part on the particleimpaction depth 121 of each of the one or more particles of theplurality of particles 120, determine an approximate collective mass ofthe plurality of particles present within the volume of fluid. Asillustrated in FIG. 3, the controller 200 may comprise a memory 201, aprocessor 202, input/output circuitry 203, communication circuitry 205,an imaging device data repository 107, a collection media characteristicdatabase 204, particle imaging circuitry 206, particle typeidentification circuitry 207, particle mass concentration calculationcircuitry 208, and fluid composition sensor configuration circuitry 209.The controller 200 may be configured to execute the operations describedherein. Although the components are described with respect to functionallimitations, it should be understood that the particular implementationsnecessarily include the use of particular hardware. It should also beunderstood that certain of the components described herein may includesimilar or common hardware. For example, two sets of circuitry may bothleverage use of the same processor, network interface, storage medium,or the like to perform their associated functions, such that duplicatehardware is not required for each set of circuitry. The use of the term“circuitry” as used herein with respect to components of the controller200 should therefore be understood to include particular hardwareconfigured to perform the functions associated with the particularcircuitry as described herein.

The term “circuitry” should be understood broadly to include hardwareand, in some embodiments, software for configuring the hardware. Forexample, in some embodiments, “circuitry” may include processingcircuitry, storage media, network interfaces, input/output devices, andthe like. In some embodiments, other elements of the controller 200 mayprovide or supplement the functionality of particular circuitry. Forexample, the processor 202 may provide processing functionality, thememory 201 may provide storage functionality, the communicationscircuitry 205 may provide network interface functionality, and the like.

In some embodiments, the processor 202 (and/or co-processor or any otherprocessing circuitry assisting or otherwise associated with theprocessor) may be in communication with the memory 201 via a bus forpassing information among components of the apparatus. The memory 201may be non-transitory and may include, for example, one or more volatileand/or non-volatile memories. For example, the memory 201 may be anelectronic storage device (e.g., a computer readable storage medium). Invarious embodiments, the memory 201 may be configured to storeinformation, data, content, applications, instructions, or the like, forenabling the apparatus to carry out various functions in accordance withexample embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be understoodthat the memory 201 may be configured to store partially or wholly anyelectronic information, data, data structures, embodiments, examples,figures, processes, operations, techniques, algorithms, instructions,systems, apparatuses, methods, look-up tables, or computer programproducts described herein, or any combination thereof. As a non-limitingexample, the memory 201 may be configured to store particle size data,particle type data, particle impaction depth data, particle image data,particle shape data, particle cross-sectional area data, particle massdata, particle density data, and particulate matter mass concentrationdata associated with a volume of fluid. In various embodiments, thememory may be further configured to store one or more particle impactiondepth-momentum look-up tables.

The processor 202 may be embodied in a number of different ways and may,for example, include one or more processing devices configured toperform independently. Additionally or alternatively, the processor mayinclude one or more processors configured in tandem via a bus to enableindependent execution of instructions, pipelining, and/ormultithreading. The use of the term “processing circuitry” may beunderstood to include a single core processor, a multi-core processor,multiple processors internal to the apparatus, and/or remote or “cloud”processors.

In an example embodiment, the processor 202 may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory 201 or otherwise accessible to theprocessor. Alternatively, or additionally, the processor may beconfigured to execute hard-coded functionality. As such, whetherconfigured by hardware or software methods, or by a combination thereof,the processor may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied incircuitry) capable of performing operations according to an embodimentof the present disclosure while configured accordingly. Alternatively,as another example, when the processor is embodied as an executor ofsoftware instructions, the instructions may specifically configure theprocessor to perform the algorithms and/or operations described hereinwhen the instructions are executed.

In some embodiments, the controller 200 may include input-outputcircuitry 203 that may, in turn, be in communication with the processor202 to provide output to the user and, in some embodiments, to receiveinput such as a command provided by the user. The input-output circuitry203 may comprise a user interface, such as a graphical user interface(GUI), and may include a display that may include a web user interface,a GUI application, a mobile application, a client device, or any othersuitable hardware or software. In some embodiments, the input-outputcircuitry 203 may also include a display device, a display screen, userinput elements, such as a touch screen, touch areas, soft keys, akeyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a speaker (e.g., a buzzer), a lightemitting device (e.g., a red light emitting diode (LED), a green LED, ablue LED, a white LED, an infrared (IR) LED, an ultraviolet (UV) LED, ora combination thereof), or other input-output mechanisms. The processor202, input-output circuitry 203 (which may utilize the processingcircuitry), or both may be configured to control one or more functionsof one or more user interface elements through computer-executableprogram code instructions (e.g., software, firmware) stored in anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., memory 201).Input-output circuitry 203 is optional and, in some embodiments, thecontroller 200 may not include input-output circuitry. For example,where the controller 200 does not interact directly with the user, thecontroller 200 may generate user interface data for display by one ormore other devices with which one or more users directly interact andtransmit the generated user interface data to one or more of thosedevices. For example, the controller 200, using user interface circuitrymay generate user interface data for display by one or more displaydevices and transmit the generated user interface data to those displaydevices.

The communications circuitry 205 may be a device or circuitry embodiedin either hardware or a combination of hardware and software that isconfigured to receive and/or transmit data from/to a network and/or anyother device, circuitry, or module in communication with the apparatus200. For example, the communications circuitry 205 may be configured tocommunicate with one or more computing devices via wired (e.g., USB) orwireless (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular, and/or the like)communication protocols.

In various embodiments, the processor 202 may be configured tocommunicate with the particle imaging circuitry 206. The particleimaging circuitry 206 may be a device or circuitry embodied in eitherhardware or a combination of hardware and software that is configured toreceive, process, generate, and/or transmit data, such as an imagecaptured by the imaging device 110. In various embodiments, the particleimaging circuitry 206 may be configured to analyze one or more imagescaptured by the imaging device 110 of the fluid composition sensor 100to determine which particles of the plurality of particles 120 presentwithin the collection media 106 were newly received by the collectionmedia 106 during a recent particle analysis. The particle imagingcircuitry 206 may receive from the imaging device a first capturedparticle image and a second captured particle image, captured at a firsttime and a second time, respectively, wherein the first time representsthe start of an analysis of the one or more particles of the pluralityof particles 120 captured by the collection media 106 by the device 10and the second time is subsequent the first time (occurs after the firsttime). In such a configuration, the device may be configured todistinguish between particles present within the collection media 106 atthe start of the particle analysis and particles that were newlyreceived by the collection media 106 by comparing the respectiveparticle images captured at the first and second times and identifyingany particles from the second captured particle image that were notcaptured in the first captured particle image. In various embodiments,the particle imaging circuitry 206 may be further configured to analyzeone or more images captured by the imaging device 110 of the fluidcomposition sensor 100 to determine the size of each of the one or moreparticles of the plurality of particles 120 within the collection media106. In various embodiments, the size of a particle may be defined bythe cross-sectional area of the particle. In various embodiments, theparticle imaging circuitry 206 may be configured to determine theparticle size of particles with any of a variety of particle sizes. Asan example, the particle imaging circuitry 206 may be configured todetermine particle sizes of particles having a diameter of between about0.3 and about 100 microns (e.g., 2.5 microns), and thus, a size categorywith which the particle may be associated, such as, for example, PM10,PM4, PM2.5, or PM1. In various embodiments, the controller and/or theparticle imaging circuitry 206 may be further configured to analyze oneor more images captured by the imaging device 110 of the fluidcomposition sensor 100 to determine the shape of each of the one or moreparticles of the plurality of particles 120 within the collection media106. In various embodiments, a particle shape may be defined at least inpart by a particle cross-sectional area. The particle imaging circuitry206 may be further configured to determine the particle impaction depth121 of each of the one or more particles of the plurality of particles120 within the collection media 106 using one or more image focusingtechniques. The particle imaging circuitry 206 may be configured toexecute instructions stored, for example, in the memory 201 for carryingout the one or more image focusing techniques. In various embodiments,the one or more image focusing techniques may comprise one orcomputational techniques, such as, for example, Angular SpectrumPropagation (ASP). In other embodiments, opto-mechanical adjustment maybe used as an image focusing technique. In various embodiments, theparticle imaging circuitry 206 may use the one or more image focusingtechniques to determine a depth of focus 122 for each of the one or moreparticles of the plurality of particles 120 within the collection media.Upon determining a depth of focus for each of the one or more particles,the particle imaging circuitry 206 may be configured to calculate, usingknown dimensions of the fluid composition sensor 100 such as, forexample, the collection media thickness and the distance between thetransparent substrate 108 and the imaging device 110, the impactiondepth 121 of each of the one or more particles of the plurality ofparticles 120 within the collection media 106. In various embodiments,for example, the impaction depth 121 of a particle within the collectionmedia 106 may be calculated by subtracting the measured depth of focus122 of a particle from the sum of the collection media thickness, thetransparent substrate thickness, and the distance between thetransparent substrate 108 and the imaging device 110. The particleimaging circuitry 206 may send and/or receive data from the imagingdevice data repository 107. In various embodiments, the particle imagingcircuitry 206 may be configured to determine an impaction depth of aparticle using one or more machine learning techniques. In variousembodiments, the one or more machine learning techniques used by theparticle imaging circuitry 206 to determine the impaction depth of aparticle may comprise using deep supervised learning with one or morelabeled datasets of one or more known particle characteristics, such as,for example, particle type, particle velocity, particle size, particleshape, and/or any other data generated, transmitted, and/or received bythe controller 200 to estimate the impaction depth of the particle.

In various embodiments, the processor 202 may be configured tocommunicate with the particle type identification circuitry 207. Theparticle type identification circuitry 207 may be a device or circuitryembodied in either hardware or a combination of hardware and softwarethat is configured to identify a particle type and/or particle speciesof one or more particles of the plurality of particles 120 received bythe collection media 106. In various embodiments, a plurality ofparticles 120 within a volume of fluid may comprise one or moreparticles of various particle types, such as, for example, one or moreof bacteria, pollen, spores, molds, biological particles, soot,inorganic particles, and organic particles. In various embodiments, theparticle type identification circuitry 207 may determine the particletype and/or particle species of each of the one or more particles of theplurality of particles 120 received by the collection media 106 usingone or more machine learning techniques. In various embodiments, the oneor more machine learning techniques used by the particle typeidentification circuitry 207 to determine the particle type and/orspecies of each of the one or more particles of the plurality ofparticles 120 may comprise analyzing an image captured by the imagingdevice 110, particle size data, particle shape data, and/or any otherdata generated, transmitted, and/or received by the controller 200. Invarious embodiments, the particle type identification circuitry 207 maysend and/or receive data from the imaging device data repository 107.Further, in various embodiments, the particle type identificationcircuitry 207 may be configured to receive the determined particleinitial velocity data corresponding to one or more of the particles ofthe plurality of particles 120 received by the collection media 106 fromthe particle matter mass concentration calculation circuitry 208. Invarious embodiments, the particle type identification circuitry 207 maybe configured to compare the determined particle initial velocity for aparticle to the particle velocity approximated based at least in part ona known flow rate of fluid moving through the fluid composition sensor100 and generate velocity comparison data associated with the particle.In various embodiments, the particle type identification circuitry 207may be configured execute a feedback loop, wherein one or more velocitycomparison data associated with one or more particles of the pluralityof particles 120 received by the collection media 106 may define one ormore inputs into a machine learning model in order to increase a rate ofmachine learning associated with the one or more machine learningtechniques, as described herein.

In various embodiments, the device 10 may be configured with, or incommunication with, a collection media characteristic database 204. Thecollection media characteristic database 204 may be stored, at leastpartially on the memory 201 of the system. In some embodiments, thecollection media characteristic database 204 may be remote from, but inconnection with, the device 10. The collection media characteristicdatabase 204 may contain information, such as one or more particleimpaction depth-momentum relationship look-up tables. In variousembodiments, a particle impaction depth-momentum relationship look-uptable may comprise a data matrix used to define a relationship between aparticle impaction depth and a particle initial momentum (i.e. themomentum of a particle at a receiving surface 105 of the collectionmedia 106, wherein the particle is received by the collection media 106at the receiving surface 105, as described herein) for a particularcollection media type. Various particle impaction depth-momentumrelationship look-up tables may comprise data matrices used to define arelationship between a particle impaction depth and a particle initialmomentum for various collection media types.

The particle matter mass concentration calculation circuitry 208 may bea device or circuitry embodied in either hardware or a combination ofhardware and software that is configured to determine a particulatematter mass concentration within a volume of fluid. In variousembodiments, the particle matter mass concentration calculationcircuitry 208 may be configured to determine the particulate matter massconcentration within a volume of fluid based on an approximatedcollective mass of a plurality of particles present within the volume offluid. In various embodiments, the particle matter mass concentrationcalculation circuitry 208 may be configured to determine theapproximated collective mass of a plurality of particles present withinthe volume of fluid based on a collective mass of the plurality ofparticles 120 received by the collection media 106. In variousembodiments, the particle matter mass concentration calculationcircuitry 208 may be configured to determine a collective mass of theplurality of particles 120 received by the collection media 106 based onthe respective estimated masses of each of the particles of theplurality of particles 120. In various embodiments, the particle mattermass concentration calculation circuitry 208 may be configured toestimate the respective masses of each of the particles of the pluralityof particles 120 based at least in part on the respective determinedimpaction depths of each particle.

In various embodiments, the particle matter mass concentrationcalculation circuitry 208 may be configured to estimate the mass of aparticle of the plurality of particles 120 by retrieving datacorresponding to a particle such as, for example, particle size data,particle shape data (e.g., particle cross-sectional area data, particleorientation data), and particle impaction depth, and, based on data in aparticle impaction depth-momentum look-up table that correlates particleimpaction depth to particle initial momentum for a given collectionmedia 106 type, determine the initial momentum of the particle prior tothe particle being received by the collection media 106. Using a knownrelationship between momentum, velocity, and mass—the momentum of aparticle is equal to the mass of the particle multiplied by the velocityof the particle—and the known velocity of the particle—a controlledvalue based on an air flow velocity within the device 10—the particlematter mass concentration calculation circuitry 208 may be configured todetermine the estimated mass of the particle.

In various embodiments, the particle matter mass concentrationcalculation circuitry 208 may be configured to determine the estimatedmass of the particle using one or more machine learning techniques. Invarious embodiments, the one or more machine learning techniques used bythe particle matter mass concentration calculation circuitry 208 todetermine the particle mass of a particle may comprise using deepsupervised learning with one or more labeled datasets of one or moreknown particle characteristics, such as, for example, particle type,particle velocity, particle impaction depth, various particlegravimetric measurements, and/or any other data generated, transmitted,and/or received by the controller 200 to estimate the mass of theparticle. In various embodiments, the particle matter mass concentrationcalculation circuitry 208 may be configured to apply one or morecompensation factors to a determined particle mass using one or moremachine learning techniques.

Further, in various embodiments, the particle matter mass concentrationcalculation circuitry 208 may be configured to determine the estimateddensity of the particle based at least in part on one or more of theparticle impaction depth, the estimated particle mass, the particleshape, the particle type, and the particle size data. In variousembodiments, the particle matter mass concentration calculationcircuitry 208 may be configured to determine the estimated mass and/ordensity of each of the particles of the plurality of particles 120received by the collection media 106. In various embodiments, theparticle matter mass concentration calculation circuitry 208 may beconfigured to apply one or more compensation factors to the estimatedmass of the particle to account for one or both of a particle conditionassociated with the particle and ambient conditions associated with theambient environment. In various embodiments, for example, the particlematter mass concentration calculation circuitry 208 may be configured toapply an appropriate compensation factor based at least in part on theparticle cross-sectional area, the ambient temperature, and/or theambient humidity. In various embodiments, the particle matter massconcentration calculation circuitry 208 may be configured to determinethe estimated collective mass of the plurality of particles 120 receivedby the collection media based on the estimated mass of each of theparticles of the plurality of particles 120 received by the collectionmedia 106. In various embodiments, the particle matter massconcentration calculation circuitry 208 may be configured to determinethe approximate collective mass of a plurality of particles presentwithin the volume of fluid based on a determined collective mass of theplurality of particles 120 received by the collection media 106. Invarious embodiments, the particle matter mass concentration calculationcircuitry 208 may be configured to determine the particulate matter massconcentration within the volume of fluid based on the approximatecollective mass of the plurality of particles present within the volumeof fluid. In various embodiments, the particle matter mass concentrationcalculation circuitry 208 may be configured to apply one or more scalefactors to the determined particulate matter mass concentration withinthe volume of fluid to account for experimental inefficiencies such as,for example, particle collection efficiencies and detection probabilityfactors. In various embodiments, an appropriate scale factor may bedetermined based on empirical data.

Moreover, the particle matter mass concentration calculation circuitry208 may be configured to determine that the collection media 106 needsto be replaced. For example, in various embodiments, the particle mattermass concentration calculation circuitry 208 may be configured todetermine that a threshold amount of time has passed since thecollection media 106 was last replaced, that the number of particlespresent within the collection media 106 has surpassed a predeterminedthreshold number of particles, and/or that a percentage of particlecoverage within a field of view has surpassed threshold particlecoverage percentage.

Further, in various embodiments, the particle matter mass concentrationcalculation circuitry 208 may be configured to determine a particleinitial velocity for one or more particles of the plurality of particles120 received by the collection media 106 based at least in part thedetermined particle mass of the particle, wherein the particle initialvelocity is a velocity of the particle at the receiving surface 105 ofthe collection media 106. In various embodiments, the particle mattermass concentration calculation circuitry 208 may be configured totransmit the determined particle initial velocity data corresponding toone or more of the particles of the plurality of particles 120 receivedby the collection media 106 to the particle type identificationcircuitry 207.

The fluid composition sensor configuration circuitry 209 may be a deviceor circuitry embodied in either hardware or a combination of hardwareand software that is configured to control the selective configurationof one or more selectively configurable components of a fluidcomposition sensor. In various embodiments, the fluid composition sensorconfiguration circuitry 209 may configure the fluid composition sensorbetween an open configuration and a closed configuration, as describedherein. Further, in various embodiments, the fluid composition sensorconfiguration circuitry 209 may facilitate the automated reconfigurationof one or more collection media assemblies, as described herein. Invarious embodiments, the fluid composition sensor configurationcircuitry 209 may selectively configure between an open configurationand a closed configuration a dispense door and/or a deposit door of oneor more collection media assembly storage chambers of a fluidcomposition sensor. Further, in various embodiments, the fluidcomposition sensor configuration circuitry 209 may be configured toselectively configure an impactor nozzle of the fluid composition sensorbetween a first nozzle configuration and a second nozzle configuration.For example, the fluid composition sensor configuration circuitry 209may transition an impactor nozzle between a first nozzle configuration,corresponding with a particle collection functionality of the fluidcomposition sensor, and a second nozzle configuration, corresponding toa particle analysis functionality of the fluid composition sensor, asdescribed herein.

In various embodiments, the device 10 may be configured with, or incommunication with, an imaging device data repository 107. The imagingdevice data repository 107 may be stored, at least partially on thememory 201 of the system. In some embodiments, the imaging device datarepository 107 may be remote from, but in connection with, the device10. The imaging device data repository 107 may contain information, suchas images relating to one or more potential components of fluids. Insome embodiments, the imaging device data repository 107, and/or othersimilar reference databases in communication with the device 10, maycomprise non-image information used to identify particles (e.g., forflorescent particles, a spectrometer may be used by the fluidcomposition sensor 100 as discussed herein and the device 10 may receivespectrum information to identify and/or classify the particles). In someembodiments, the device 10 may also use machine learning for identifyingand/or classifying particles, such that the device 10 may use areference database, such as the imaging device data repository 107, toinitially train the device 10 and then may be configured to identifyand/or classify particles without referencing the imaging device datarepository 107 or other reference databases (e.g., a system may not bein active communication with the imaging device data repository 107during regular operations).

Method

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary method 400 fordetecting fluid particle characteristics in accordance with someembodiments discussed herein.

At block 402, one or more particles of a plurality of particles may bereceived by a collection media via a volume of fluid. The plurality ofparticles may be received by the collection media from a volume of fluidcomprising a plurality of particles. In various embodiments, theplurality of particles received by the collection media may berepresentative of a plurality of particles present within a volume offluid. In various embodiments, a fluid composition sensor may comprisethe collection media and may be configured so as to direct at least aportion of the volume of fluid in a direction perpendicular to areceiving surface of the collection media such that the volume of fluidmay interact with the collection media.

Further, at block 404, an image is captured of the one or more particlesof the plurality of particles received by the collection media. Invarious embodiments, the image of the one or more particles of theplurality of particles received by the collection media may be capturedby an imaging device. In various embodiments, the imaging device may beconfigured to capture both an image of the one or more particles of theplurality of particles present within the collection media at thebeginning of a particle analysis and an image of the one or moreparticles of the plurality of particles present within the collectionmedia at the end of a particle analysis. The images may be compared todetermine which of the one or more particles of the plurality ofparticles present within the collection media were received by thecollection media during the particle analysis. In various embodiments,the imaging device may be disposed within a fluid composition sensorproximate the collection media such that the one or more particles ofthe plurality of particles received by the collection media are within adesignated field of view of the imaging device. In various embodiments,the image of one or more particles of the plurality of particlesreceived by the collection media may be captured using one or moreimaging techniques, such as, for example lensless holography or opticalmicroscopy. In various embodiments, the particle image may comprise aholographic image reconstruction.

At block 406, a particle impaction depth of each of the one or moreparticles of the plurality of particles within the collection media isdetermined. The particle impaction depth of a particle received by acollection media may be defined by the depth at which the particle isembedded into the collection media. In various embodiments, the particleimpaction depth of each of the one or more particles of the plurality ofparticles within the collection media may be determined using an imagecaptured by an imaging device. In various embodiments, the particleimpaction depth of each of the one or more particles of the plurality ofparticles within the collection media may be determined based on ameasured depth of focus, a distance between the imaging device and thetransparent substrate, a thickness of the transparent substrate, and acollection media thickness, wherein the depth of focus is the distancebetween the imaging device and the particle. The depth of focus of aparticle may be defined as the distance between an imaging device andthe particle. In various embodiments, the depth of focus of each of theone or more particles of the plurality of particles received by thecollection media may be determined using one or more image focusingtechniques, such as a computational technique (e.g., Angular SpectrumPropagation) and/or a mechanical technique (e.g., opto-mechanicaladjustment). In various embodiments, the impaction depth of each of theone or more particles of the plurality of particles within thecollection media may be calculated by subtracting the measured depth offocus of each particle from the sum of the collection media thickness, atransparent substrate thickness, and a distance between the transparentsubstrate and the imaging device.

At block 408, an approximate collective mass of the plurality ofparticles present within a volume of fluid is determined based at leastin part on the particle impaction depth of each of the one or moreparticles of the plurality of particles. In various embodiments, therespective determined particle impaction depths of each particle may beused to estimate the respective masses of each of the particles of theplurality of particles. In various embodiments, based on data in aparticle impaction depth-momentum look-up table that correlates particleimpaction depth to particle initial momentum for a given collectionmedia type, the particle impaction depth and the measured particle sizedata may be used to determine the initial momentum of each particleprior to the particle being received by the collection media. Using aknown relationship between momentum, velocity, and mass—the momentum ofa particle is equal to the mass of the particle multiplied by thevelocity of the particle—and a known velocity of each particle—acontrolled value based on an air flow velocity of the volume offluid—the estimated mass of each of the particles may be determined. Invarious embodiments, one or more compensation factors may be applied tothe estimated mass of each of the particles to account for one or bothof a particle condition associated with the particle and ambientconditions associated with an ambient environment. In variousembodiments, for example, an appropriate compensation factor may beapplied based at least in part on a particle cross-sectional area, anambient temperature, and/or an ambient humidity. In various embodiments,the respective estimated masses of each of the particles of theplurality of particles may be used to determine the collective mass ofthe plurality of particles received by the collection media. In variousembodiments, the determined collective mass of the plurality ofparticles received by the collection media may be used to approximate acollective mass of a plurality of particles present within the volume offluid. In various embodiments, the approximated collective mass of aplurality of particles present within the volume of fluid may be used toestimate a particulate matter mass concentration within the volume offluid. In various embodiments, one or more scale factors may be appliedto the determined particulate matter mass concentration within thevolume of fluid to account for experimental inefficiencies such as, forexample, particle collection efficiencies and detection probabilityfactors. In various embodiments, an appropriate scale factor may bedetermined based on empirical data.

At block 410, a compensation factor may be applied to the approximatecollective mass of the plurality of particles present within a volume offluid based at least in part on one or more of a particlecross-sectional area, an ambient temperature, and an ambient humidity.In various embodiments, a compensation factor may be applied to theestimated mass of each of the particles to account for one or both of aparticle condition associated with the particle and ambient conditionsassociated with an ambient environment. In various embodiments, forexample, a compensation factor may be applied to the estimated mass of aparticle to account for the particle cross-sectional area because alarger particle cross-sectional area will disperse kinetic energy morequickly within the collection media, thereby decreasing the particleimpaction depth. In various embodiments, a compensation factor may beapplied to the estimated mass of a particle to account for the ambienttemperature and/or ambient humidity because both the ambient temperatureand ambient humidity affect the viscosity of the collection media, andtherefore, the particle impaction depth. In various embodiments, theambient temperature and humidity may be measured by either the device orone or more remote sensors configured to transmit temperature andhumidity data to the device.

At block 412, the particle size of each of the one or more particles ofthe plurality of particles received by the collection media may bedetermined. In various embodiments, the particle size of each of the oneor more particles may be determined based on the captured particleimage. In various embodiments, the particle size of particles with adiameter of between about 0.3 and about 100 microns (e.g., 2.5 microns)may be determined, and a size category such as, for example, PM10, PM4,PM2.5, or PM1. In various embodiments, particle size data may compriseparticle cross-sectional area data.

At block 414, a particle type of each of the one or more particles ofthe plurality of particles received by the collection media may bedetermined using one or more machine leaning techniques. In variousembodiments, the one or more machine learning techniques used todetermine the particle type of each of the one or more particles of theplurality of particles may comprise analyzing a captured particle imageof the one or more particles, particle size data, and/or any other dataassociated with the one or more particles. In some embodiments, machinelearning techniques may be used for identifying and/or classifyingparticles. In various embodiments, a reference imaging databasecomprising various particle data may be used to initially train amachine learning apparatus, which may then be then may be utilized toidentify and/or classify particles without referencing the imagingdatabase or other reference databases.

At block 416, a particle density of each of the one or more particles ofthe plurality of particles received by the collection media may bedetermined based at least in part on the particle impaction depth ofeach of the one or more particles. In various embodiments, the particledensity of a particle may be determined based at least in part on one ormore of the particle impaction depth, the estimated particle mass, theparticle type, and the particle size data.

In various embodiments, the method described herein may further comprisereplacing the collection media as described herein. In variousembodiments, the collection media may be replaced based on one or moreparameters such as, for example, time elapsed, number of particlesreceived, and/or percentage of particle coverage within a field of view.

CONCLUSION

Many modifications and other embodiments will come to mind to oneskilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefitof the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and theassociated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that thedisclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosedand that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be includedwithin the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms areemployed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense onlyand not for purposes of limitation.

That which is claimed:
 1. A device for detecting fluid particlecharacteristics comprising: a fluid composition sensor configured toreceive a volume of fluid, the fluid composition sensor comprising: ahousing defining an internal sensor portion and comprising a fluid inletconfigured to receive the volume of fluid; an impactor nozzle disposedwithin the internal sensor portion and configured to receive at least aportion of the volume of fluid such that the at least a portion of thevolume of fluid received by the impactor is directed in a fluid flowdirection; at least one collection media configured to receive one ormore particles of a plurality of particles within the volume of fluid,at least a portion of the at least one collection media being disposedwithin the internal sensor portion, wherein each of the at least onecollection media comprises at least one orifice configured to allow atleast a portion of the volume of fluid to flow therethrough; and animaging device configured to capture an image of at least a portion ofthe one or more particles of the plurality of particles received by theat least one collection media; and wherein the housing is selectivelyconfigurable between a first housing configuration and a second housingconfiguration, wherein the first housing configuration enables areconfiguration of the at least one collection media, and wherein thesecond housing configuration provides a secured seal so as to isolatethe at least a portion of the at least one collection media disposedwithin the internal sensor portion from a volume of ambient fluid,wherein the fluid flow direction is at least substantially toward the atleast a portion of the at least one collection media disposed within theinternal sensor portion; and wherein, when the fluid composition sensoris configured in the second housing configuration, at leastsubstantially all of the at least a portion of the volume of fluidreceived by the impactor nozzle flows through the at least one orificeof the at least one collection media disposed within the internalportion of the housing.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the at leastone collection media comprises a plurality of collection media, each ofthe plurality of collection media being configured to be consecutivelydisposed within the internal sensor portion in series.
 3. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one collection media is disposed upon analignment plate configured such that the reconfiguration of the at leastone collection media comprises moving the alignment plate about ahorizontal plane so as to move the at least one collection mediarelative to the internal sensor portion of the housing.
 4. The device ofclaim 2, wherein the at least one collection media is disposed upon arotatable disc configured such that the reconfiguration of the at leastone collection media comprises rotating the rotatable disc about an axisso as to move the at least one collection media relative to the internalsensor portion of the housing.
 5. The device of claim 2, furthercomprising a first collection media assembly storage chamber configuredto house at least a portion of the plurality of collection media, thefirst collection media assembly storage chamber being positionedproximate the housing such that the housing is configured to receive theat least a portion of the plurality of collection media from the firstcollection media assembly storage chamber.
 6. The device of claim 5,wherein each of the plurality of collection media comprises acorresponding frame element configured to facilitate the collectivestorage and subsequent dispense of the at least a portion of theplurality of collection media from the first collection media assemblystorage chamber.
 7. The device of claim 5, wherein the first collectionmedia assembly storage chamber further comprises an actuator elementconfigured to selectively apply a force to one of the plurality ofcollection media stored within the first collection media assemblystorage chamber so as to reposition the one of the plurality ofcollection media to the internal sensor portion of the fluid compositionsensor.
 8. The device of claim 2, further comprising a second collectionmedia storage chamber positioned proximate the housing such that thehousing is configured to transmit at least a portion of the plurality ofcollection media to the second collection media assembly storagechamber, the second collection media assembly storage chamber beingconfigured to receive at least a portion of the plurality of collectionmedia from the internal sensor portion of the housing.
 9. A device forimaging fluid particles via lensless holography, the device comprising:a fluid composition sensor configured to receive a volume of fluid, thefluid composition sensor comprising: a housing defining an internalsensor portion and comprising a fluid inlet configured to receive thevolume of fluid; at least one collection media configured to receive oneor more particles of a plurality of particles within the volume offluid, at least a portion of the at least one collection media beingdisposed within the internal sensor portion; an impactor nozzle disposedwithin the internal sensor portion, the impactor nozzle comprising: anozzle inlet comprising a nozzle inlet cross-sectional area, the nozzleinlet being configured to receive at least a portion of the volume offluid; a nozzle outlet comprising a nozzle outlet cross-sectional area;and a plurality of sidewalls extending between the nozzle inlet and thenozzle outlet, each of the plurality of sidewalls comprising an innersidewall and an outer sidewall, wherein the plurality of sidewallsdefine a first nozzle portion and a second nozzle portion, wherein thefirst nozzle portion comprises a first tapered portion extending betweenthe nozzle inlet and an intermediate nozzle location, and wherein thesecond nozzle portion extends between the intermediate nozzle locationand the nozzle outlet, the intermediate nozzle location comprising anintermediate nozzle cross-sectional width, wherein the first nozzleportion is configured such that the intermediate nozzle cross-sectionalwidth is smaller than the nozzle inlet cross-sectional area; wherein theimpactor nozzle is configured such that the at least a portion of thevolume of fluid received by the nozzle inlet flows from the nozzleoutlet in fluid air flow direction at least substantially toward the atleast a portion of the at least one collection media disposed within theinternal sensor portion; at least one illumination source configured toemit one or more light beams so as to engage the at least one collectionmedia and illuminate the one or more particles received by the at leastone collection media, each of the one or more light beams being emittedfrom the illumination source at a corresponding light beam emissionangle; an imaging device configured to capture an image of at least aportion of the one or more particles received by the at least onecollection media; wherein the fluid composition sensor is configuredsuch that at least a portion of the one or more light beams emitted fromthe illumination source extend through both the nozzle inlet and thenozzle outlet; and wherein the impactor nozzle comprises a particleimaging configuration wherein at least one of the plurality of sidewallsis defined at least in part by a taper angle corresponding with thecorresponding light beam emission angle of one of the one or more lightbeams, wherein the taper angle is at least as large as each light beamemission angle.
 10. The device of claim 9, wherein the second nozzleportion comprises a second tapered portion configured such that theintermediate nozzle cross-sectional width is smaller than the nozzleoutlet cross-sectional area.
 11. The device of claim 10, wherein theimpactor nozzle further comprises a central nozzle axis extendingperpendicularly between the nozzle inlet and the nozzle outlet, whereinthe illumination source is aligned with the central nozzle axis.
 12. Thedevice of claim 9, wherein the impactor nozzle is configurable between afirst nozzle configuration and a second nozzle configuration, whereinthe first nozzle configuration corresponds to a particle collectionfunctionality of the fluid composition sensor, and wherein the secondnozzle configuration corresponds to a particle analysis functionality ofthe fluid composition sensor, wherein the fluid composition sensor isconfigured so as to selectively configure the nozzle between the firstnozzle configuration and the second nozzle configuration.
 13. The deviceof claim 12, wherein the nozzle outlet cross-sectional area of thenozzle outlet in the first nozzle configuration is smaller than thenozzle outlet cross-sectional area of the nozzle outlet in the secondnozzle configuration.
 14. The device of claim 13, wherein each of theplurality of sidewalls is configured to independently move relative toan adjacent sidewall of the plurality of sidewalls.
 15. The device ofclaim 13, wherein the fluid composition sensor is configured toselectively apply a pushing force to each of the outer sidewalls of theplurality of sidewalls.
 16. A method for detecting fluid particlecharacteristics comprising: receiving, via a sensor, a volume of fluid;directing the volume of fluid, via an impactor nozzle in a first nozzleconfiguration, toward a collection media, the impactor nozzle comprisinga nozzle inlet and a nozzle outlet, and a plurality of sidewallsextending between the nozzle inlet and the nozzle outlet, wherein theplurality of sidewalls define a first nozzle portion and a second nozzleportion, wherein the first nozzle portion comprises a first taperedportion extending between the nozzle inlet and an intermediate nozzlelocation, and wherein the second nozzle portion extends between theintermediate nozzle location and the nozzle outlet, the intermediatenozzle location comprising an intermediate nozzle cross-sectional width,wherein the first nozzle portion is configured such that theintermediate nozzle cross-sectional width is smaller than a nozzle inletcross-sectional area; receiving, via the collection media, one or moreparticles of a plurality of particles within the volume of fluid;reconfiguring the impactor nozzle to a second nozzle configuration;illuminating, via one or more light beams emitted from an illuminationsource, the one or more particles received by the collection media,wherein each of the one or more light beams are emitted from anillumination source at a corresponding light beam emission angle;capturing an image of the one or more particles of the plurality ofparticles received by the collection media; and determining, based atleast in part on the image, at least one particle characteristic of theplurality of particles of volume of fluid.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein reconfiguring the impactor nozzle to the second nozzleconfiguration comprises repositioning at least a portion of the impactornozzle such that at least a portion of one or more of a plurality ofsidewalls of the impactor nozzle is defined at least in part by a taperangle corresponding with the corresponding light beam emission angle ofone of the one or more light beams, wherein the taper angle is at leastas large as each of the light beam emission angles.
 18. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising upon capturing the image of the one or moreparticles of the plurality of particles received by the collectionmedia, repositioning a second collection media so as to replace thecollection media.